The United States has formally filed a request for Switzerland to extradite seven FIFA executives arrested in Zurich on charges of corruption and bribery.

The seven are part of 14 high-ranking FIFA officials indicted on charges of systemic corruption. The men have allegedly been involved in shady activities for over 20 years and have amassed over 100 million from bribery.

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In a statement on Thursday, Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice said the official extradition request for the seven high-ranking officials of the world football governing body FIFA has been received through the US Embassy in Bern.

The request, which has been anticipated in the media since the officials were arrested during an early morning luxury hotel raid after a FIFA World Congress in Zurich, was submitted late Wednesday, CNN reported.

The arrests have shaken FIFA and led to the end of President Sepp Batter's reign. The revelation of bribery in FIFA was uncovered during an investigation into racketeering and bribery conducted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In May, the U.S. Department of Justice published a 47 count indictment for 14 people including football and marketing officials. They are accused of receiving huge sums in bribes in exchange for granting broadcasting rights for international football competitions in North and South America.

"Those suspected of paying the bribes--representatives of sports media and sports promotion forms- are believed to have received media, marketing and sponsorship rights for soccer tournaments in the United States and in Latin America," the Swiss Justice Department said in a statement."These crimes are thought to have been agreed and prepared in the USA, and payments were allegedly routed through U.S. banks."

The high-ranking accused officials include three current and former members of FIFA's executive committee, such as Jeffery Webb, a UK citizen and FIFA vice president who is also the head of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Another senior official in detention is 83-year-old Jose Maria Marin, who served as head of Brazil's Football Federation from March 2012 to April 2015. He was also a member of the 2014 World Cup committee.

The other detained officials include Nicaraguan, Julio Rocha; Venezuelan, Rafael Esquivel; Costas Takkas, a British citizen; Eduardo Li, from Costa Rican and Eugenio Fegueredo from Uruguay.

AP reported that all seven men currently held in Zurich have objected to the request that they be extradited to the United States. Experts say if they are found guilty, the seven officials could face up to 20 years in prison.

According to Swiss law, the accused men would be granted 14 days to respond to the extradition request. After their response, Switzerland's Justice Department would rule on the extradition request. However, experts say the verdict of the ruling can be appealed in the Swiss Supreme Court or the country's top criminal court.

The pressure of the American indictment and a separate Swiss investigation of corruption and money laundering in relation to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, has rocked the footballing world.

Although Blatter has not been formally accused, he has denied breaking any laws. The long time FIFA president announced on June 2, shortly after the indictment were read, that he would resign. The next FIFA election is due to be held next year.

Although, Switzerland and America have an extradition treaty, according to Swiss law, Blatter, a citizen, cannot be extradited to the U.S. without his consent.

Additionally, on July 2, Blatter's U.S.-based lawyer announced that the FIFA president, who has been present at every final of the women's World Cup event since he took the office in 1998, will not be attending Sunday's final in Canada.

Lawyer Richard Cullen said Blatter would not be attending the finals due to personal reasons. In a related post, FIFA also announced that Secretary General Jerome Valcke would not be traveling to Vancouver for the finals between the United States and Japan on July 5.

Reuters reported that FIFA Senior Vice President and President of the Confederation of Africa Football  Issa Hayatou would preside over the event and present the trophy to the winners.

TagsUnited States Requests Extradiction of FIFA Officials, Swizerland, sepp blatter, FIFA Corruptionl, Jeffery Webb, Jose Maria Marin, FIFA Bribery Scandal