US - 1, Fifa - 0: why American law enforcers are so keen to fight global corruption

With US$150 million in alleged kickbacks at the centre of one of the biggest scandals to hit the soccer world, many are wondering why the United States - where the sport is more often relegated to the sidelines - is leading the corruption investigation of the game's governing body.

As more details emerge about the FBI's explosive case against 14 Fifa officials and corporate executives, the long and powerful arm of the US authorities is being felt by one of the world's most powerful sporting bodies.

And just because most sports fans in the US would prefer watching a touchdown in American football than a goal on the soccer pitch, the decades-long allegedly corrupt activities of Fifa officials have not gone unnoticed by US law enforcement agencies.

"If you touch our shores with your corrupt enterprise - whether that is through meetings or through using our world-class financial system - you will be held accountable for that corruption," FBI director James Comey said shortly after the Fifa officials were arrested at an expensive hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

US federal law grants law enforcement agencies broad authority to pursue criminal investigations as long as there is some connection to the United States, even a tangential one such as the involvement of a bank, internet service provider or mobile phone company.

And whether they are targeting Olympic corruption or doping scandals like the Lance Armstrong case, US justice authorities rarely miss an opportunity to shine a light into the darkest corners of the sports world.