A staff member waits prior to a press conference at the FIFA headquarters on Wednesday in Zurich. Swiss police Wednesday raided a hotel to detain seven top football officials as part of a US investigation into alleged bribes involving tens of millions of dollars. Photo: AFP

Seven of the most powerful figures in global soccer faced extradition to the United States on corruption charges after being arrested on Wednesday in Switzerland, where authorities also announced a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two World Cups.

The world's most popular sport was plunged into turmoil after US and Swiss authorities announced separate inquiries into the activities of the game's powerful governing body.

US authorities said nine football officials and five sports media and promotions executives faced corruption charges involving more than $150 million in bribes. Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials who are now awaiting extradition to the US.

US officials gave details of a case in which they said they exposed complex money laundering schemes, found millions of dollars in untaxed incomes and tens of millions in offshore accounts held by FIFA officials.

At a New York press conference, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said authorities were seeking the arrest of other people in connection with the case.

One of those indicted, former FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner of Trinidad, solicited $10 million in bribes from the South African government to host the 2010 World Cup, the Justice Department said. Warner issued a statement saying he is innocent of any charges.

Those arrested did not include Sepp Blatter, the Swiss head of FIFA, but included several just below him in the hierarchy of sport's wealthiest body.

Of the 14 indicted by the US Department of Justice, seven FIFA officials, including Vice-President Jeffrey Webb, were being held in Zurich. Four people and two corporate defendants had already pleaded guilty to various charges, the department said.

The Miami, Florida headquarters of CONCACAF, the soccer federation that governs North America, Central America and the Caribbean, were being searched on Wednesday, the DoJ said.

"As charged in the indictment, the defendants fostered a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the biggest sport in the world," said FBI Director James Comey. "Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks, and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA."

The FIFA officials appeared to have walked into a trap set by US and Swiss authorities. The arrests were made at dawn at a plush Zurich hotel, the Baur au Lac, where FIFA officials are staying ahead of a vote this week where they are expected to anoint Blatter for a fifth term in office. Suites at the hotel cost up to $4,000 a night.

Difficult moment

FIFA called the arrests a "difficult moment" but said Blatter would seek a fifth term as FIFA head as planned and the upcoming World Cups would go ahead as intended.

Swiss prosecutors said they had opened their own criminal proceedings against unidentified people on suspicion of mismanagement and money laundering related to the awarding of rights to host the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The US Department of Justice named those arrested in its case as: Webb, Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, FIFA Vice-President Eugenio Figueredo, Rafael Esquivel and José Maria Marin.

An authoritative source said the extradition process could take years if it was contested.

The DoJ said the defendants included US and South American sports marketing executives alleged to have paid and agreed to pay "well over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks to obtain lucrative media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments."

"The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the US," Lynch said in a statement.

Persistently dogged

The international governing body of football collects billions of dollars in revenue, mostly from sponsorship and television rights for World Cups.

It has persistently been dogged by reports of corruption which it says it investigates itself, but until now it has escaped major criminal cases in any country.

In particular, the decision to award the World Cup to Qatar, a tiny desert country with no domestic tradition of soccer, was heavily criticized by soccer officials in Western countries.

US police will quiz Russia and Qatar on how the two World Cup events were awarded to them, according to CNN.

A Russian official said on Wednesday FIFA scandal are not related to Russia's bidding campaign for the 2018 World Cup, and his country would still host the 2018 World Cup.

Most of the arrested officials are in Switzerland for the FIFA Congress, where Blatter faces a challenge from Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein in an election on Friday to lead the organization. Other potential challengers to Blatter have all dropped out the race.

Prince Ali, who has promised to clean up FIFA if elected to the top job, said it was "a sad day for football" and called for leadership in the world body that could restore the confidence of hundreds of millions of fans around the world.