Officials from football’s world governing body Fifa took millions of dollars in bribes over 24 years to allocate tournaments and rig elections, a US investigation says.
Prosecutors said they had discovered a dozen schemes, including one awarding the 2010 World Cup to South Africa.
Fourteen people have been indicted, with seven held in Zurich on Wednesday.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter is not among them. Fifa still intends to hold its presidential election on Friday.
However, European football body Uefa has called for the election to be postponed and said it could boycott the congress.
Mr Blatter is seeking re-election and is favoured to win a fifth term.