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FIFA Headquarters, Zurich
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FIFA’s
ethics group will consider recommendations for action against officials and
changes to the bidding process for future soccer World Cups after an
investigation into the controversial awarding of tournaments to Russia and
Qatar, Bloomberg News reports.
A group led by former
U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia today submitted a 350-page report on the bidding
race for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments to FIFA’s adjudicatory chamber. Garcia’s
group heard from more than 75 witnesses and gathered 200,000 pages of relevant
material, according to a FIFA statement sent on behalf of his committee.
“The report sets forth
detailed factual findings; reaches conclusions concerning further action with
respect to certain individuals; identifies issues to be referred to other FIFA
committees; and makes recommendations for future bidding processes,” FIFA said
in the e-mailed statement.
The race to host the US$5
billion World Cup was a contentious one, with two voters suspended before the
poll after telling undercover reporters from the Times of London that their
votes could be bought. Several other officials were caught up in the
newspaper’s allegations.
Qatar, a desert state
smaller than Connecticut, beat bids from the U.S., Australia, Japan and Korea.
Russia triumphed ahead of England and joint bids from Spain and Portugal and
from the Netherlands and Belgium.
Since the selections,
FIFA has changed the way hosts are selected by inviting its entire 209-nation
membership to participate in a final vote instead of a smaller panel.
FIFA didn’t provide a date
for the final decision on the investigation. Russia and Qatar have started work
on infrastructure projects to prepare for soccer’s 32-nation showpiece.
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