South Africa has rejected  FIFA’s claim that a $10-million bribe was paid by the country to win the right to host the World Cup in 2010, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula said on Thursday.

“South Africa did not pay any bribe nor did it illegally obtain the right to host the World Cup,” he told a news conference in Cape Town.

He said FIFA must retract its statement made on Wednesday, when it sought restitution in U.S. courts from former FIFA executive committee members it said had accepted bribes in the awarding of World Cup hosting rights.

“We paid money to a legacy project in the African Diaspora in the Caribbean,” Mbalula said.