Scandal-tainted football chief David Chung has quit as head of the Papua New Guinea Football Association, days after resigning as Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) president over corruption concerns.
Chung stepped down on Friday as Oceania’s top football official citing “personal reasons”.
But FIFA subsequently revealed an audit had uncovered “potential irregularities” in the construction of a lavish new Auckland headquarters for the OFC.
The world governing body has temporarily suspended all funding to Oceania.
The Malaysian-born Chung’s fall is now complete after he also resigned as president of the PNGFA, a position he had held since 2004, a statement on its website said Wednesday.
“To ensure good governance and accountability at all levels, the executive committee of PNGFA will adhere to the status of PNG Football Association and comply with the process in electing a new president of PNGFA,” said vice president John Wesley Gonjuan.
“In the meantime, it’s business as usual.”
The FIFA audit raised concerns about construction of a sports hub in Auckland that Chung said would become “The Home of Football” in the Pacific region.
With a reported budget of NZ$15 million ($10.9 million), it was a pet project of Chung, who had led the OFC since 2010.
The New York Times reported that Chung and former OFC general secretary Tai Nicholas awarded contracts for the scheme without tender to companies with no track record in the area.
It claimed the audit showed many of the companies were set up just before the contracts were awarded and questioned their relationship with those driving the project.
The newspaper alleged the OFC’s executive committee was planning to suspend Chung for “gross dereliction of duty or an act of improper conduct” at a meeting last weekend before he fell on his sword.
Nicholas quietly resigned in December, also citing personal reasons. –Â Agence France-Presse
