Aaron Davidson

Aaron Davidson
Born1970 or 1971 (age 53–54)[1]
Alma materEmory University (1993)[2]
Southern Methodist University (1996)[3]
SpouseMichelle Dryjansky

Aaron Davidson (born 1971) is an American lawyer and businessman.

Davidson is the director of business development of Plant the Future, Conviction2, Inc. and OG4ever and former chairman of the board of governors of the North American Soccer League,[4] and former president of Traffic Sports USA. The Brazilian José Hawilla, owner and founder of Traffic Group, named Davidson VP of sales and marketing of his company's North American headquarters in 2003. Davidson then became President of Traffic Sports USA in 2012. Davidson spearheaded sponsorship sales for Copa America from 2004 - 2015 and for CONCACAF from 2012 - 2015 highlighted by increasing Copa America sponsorship from about $5 million to over $50 million and selling the first overarching CONCACAF partnership to Scotiabank.[5]

Davidson was one of 14 suspects indicted[6][7] and detained in the 2015 FIFA corruption case.[8] He was banned by the FIFA Ethics Committee.[9] In May 2015, Davidson pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court and was released on $5 million bond.[10] Subsequently, in October 2016, Davidson pleaded guilty and forfeited $507,900[11] with sentencing set for October 3, 2019.[12] In September 2018, FIFA's ethics committee imposed life ban on Davidson for bribery and corruption and a $1.03 million fine.[13]

On September 1, 2023, Judge Pamela Chen of the Eastern District of New York acquitted Full Play and Lopez and stayed all upcoming sentencings including Davidson's sentencing in this case until appellate review, if any, is concluded.[14][15]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT 2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Rangus, Eric, "Kicking Grass: How Atlanta’s rebooted pro team is bringing soccer back", Emory Magazine, Summer 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  3. ^ "Southern Methodist University Eighty-First Annual Commencement Convocation" May 18, 1996, p. 18. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  4. ^ "Kick Starter: Aaron Davidson re-establishes pro soccer in Florida". Florida Trend. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "Scotiabank Joins CONCACAF as Official Partner". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  6. ^ Blake, J. Mike, and Andrew Kenney, "RailHawks owner Aaron Davidson indicted in FIFA soccer corruption case", The News & Observer, May 27, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  7. ^ Buchanan, Larry, Tom Giratikanon and Karen Youris, "How the Indicted Officials Fit Into FIFA", New York Times, May 26, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  8. ^ Halliday, Josh (May 27, 2015). "Fifa corruption crisis: the key figures in the controversy". The Guardian. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  9. ^ "Independent Ethics Committee bans Aaron Davidson from football-related activities". FIFA. May 28, 2015. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  10. ^ O'Keeffe, Michael (May 29, 2015). "FIFA scandal defendant enters not guilty plea in Brooklyn". Daily News. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  11. ^ Raymond, Nate (October 21, 2016). "Ex-marketing executive pleads guilty in U.S. bribery probe of FIFA". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  12. ^ "FIFA Prosecution, United States v. Napout, et al. and Related Cases". United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  13. ^ "FIFA life bans for 3 who pleaded guilty in US case". AP News. September 19, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  14. ^ "U.S. judge throws out two bribery convictions". ESPN.com. September 2, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  15. ^ http://www.debevoise.com/-/media/files/pdf/show_temp.pdf?rev=2229e4b5e5f04f13b447baf282ab764f&hash=127E06D5A4741C5CD1CE6D05418E3266 [bare URL]