Berlin: Germany's winning bid for the 2006 World Cup was aided by bribes paid to FIFA executive committee members, the German newsweekly Der Spiegel reported on Saturday.

Spiegel said the German bidding committee set up a slush fund of 10.3 million Swiss francs (about $16 million at that time) that was contributed in a private capacity by former Adidas chief Robert Louis-Dreyfus.