New Delhi: Former All India Football Federation General Secretary Alberto Colaco was today banned by FIFA for three years from any activity related to the game for taking a bribe in a controversial election of an executive committee member of the world body in 2009.

Colaco was handed the ban by the FIFA Ethics Committee for "accepting a payment in the context of the elections" for former Asian Football Confederation chief Mohamed bin Hammam's FIFA executive committee seat in 2009. Bin Hammam, now out of football-related activities after a life ban imposed by FIFA, beat current AFC chief Sheikh
Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain 23-21 in the 2009 elections marred by allegations of vote-buying from both candidates' supporters.