The ban follows a financial probe into the construction of the new OFC "Home of Football" headquarters in Auckland in New Zealand.

Nicholas, also a former FIFA Standing Committee member, was found guilty by the Adjudicatory Chamber of FIFA's Independent Ethics Committee

He has been fined CHF50,000 (£39,000/$50,000/€44,000) and banned from all football-related activities at both national and international level for eight years for the breaches of FIFA’s Code of Ethics.

"The Adjudicatory Chamber of the Independent Ethics Committee has found Mr Tai Nicholas, former general secretary of the Oceania Football Confederation and former FIFA Standing Committee member, guilty of having misappropriated FIFA funds, as well as having offered and accepted gifts or other benefits, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics," a FIFA statement reads.

"The investigation into Mr. Nicholas concerned the misappropriation of FIFA funds allocated to the OFC between 2014 and 2017 in relation to the OFC Home of Football, as well as to various undue benefits accepted from or offered to several football officials and other individuals."

Today's announcement follows the sanctioning of former OFC President David Chung, banned from football for six-and-a-half years in March for accepting gifts and acting under a conflict of interest.

The Papua New Guinea official, who was also a FIFA senior vice-president and a member of the world governing body's Council, suddenly resigned from his roles in April 2018.

It followed the financial probe into the construction of the new OFC headquarters.

FIFA revealed they had uncovered "potential irregularities" with the $20 million (£16 million/€18 million) project which led to them cutting funding to the region.

Chung, who had led the OFC since 2011, cited personal reasons when announcing his departure last year.

He had been FIFA President Gianni Infantino's highest-ranking deputy before his exit.

Chung succeeded Reynald Temarii as OFC President after the Tahiti official was banned from football for eight years following the FIFA World Cup bid vote-buying scandal in connection with the 2018 and 2022 races.

Also in March, OFC vice-president Lee Harmon was suspended for three months by FIFA after he was found guilty of reselling tickets at last year's World Cup in Russia.

The 51-year-old, President of the Cook Islands Football Association, and FIFA "mutually agreed" on the sanctions, which also included a fine of CHF20,000 (£16,000/$20,000/€18,000), following the conclusion of an investigation launched last July shortly after the end of the tournament.