FIFA to Proceed with World Cup Votes
Baku, October 30 (AZERTAC). Football`s world governing body FIFA will proceed with the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding votes on December 2, despite corruption and bribery allegations that left two of its executive committee members suspended.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter confirmed the voting process but admitted that it may have been a mistake to combine the two World Cups into one bidding process. The tactic to do both World Cups at once appears to have created more opportunities for corruption.
Blatter also said that if Nigeria`s Amos Adamu and Tahiti`s Reynald Temarii are still suspended when the vote is scheduled, neither man will be replaced during the process. The remaining 22 members would decide who wins the right to host the tournaments in a secret ballot to be held in Zurich .
The winner of the bid needs an absolute majority, with candidates who have the fewest votes eliminated in each round until a final winner emerges. The 2018 vote will take place first, followed by voting for the 2022 version.
England, Russia and joint bids from Belgium-Holland and Spain-Portugal are competing to host the 2018 World Cup, while the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Qatar are the candidates for the 2022 tournament.
FIFA`s ethics committee is set to rule on the Adamu and Temarrii cases on November 17. The panel is also investigating whether Spain-Portugal and Qatar were involved in alleged vote-trading.
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