Less than a fortnight before the World Cup starts in Brazil FIFA are under fire over awarding the 2022 competition to Qatar.
From the moment the tournament was given to the gulf state there has been allegations of wrong doing among top FIFA officials with bids from Australia and the United States overlooked in favour of a country with no experience of hosting major events.
The Sunday Times has been on the case for over a year and this morning has published it’s findings after extensive work uncovered emails, letters and bank transactions from figures associated with the Qatar bid and FIFA decision makers.
UEFA and European clubs have already expressed their reservations about the competition being played in Qatar with a January tournament throwing the fixture calendar into meltdown.
Disrupting the Champions League would have a major impact on sponsors and could lead to a stand off where UEFA confronts FIFA or threatens to set up an alternative World Cup in a bid to reduce the corruption surrounding the world body.
Documents uncovered by the Sunday Times allege that Qatari football official Mohamed Bin Hammam made payments totaling $5m US to FIFA officials involved in the 2022 vote.
The Qatar officials deny any wrongdoing and insist that Bin Hammam never had any official role supporting the bid and always acted independently from the official Qatar 2022 campaign.
When approached by the Sunday Times to respond to their claims, Bin Hammam’s son Hamad Al Abdulla declined to comment on his behalf.
Although the vast majority of the officials did not have a vote, the Sunday Times alleges Bin Hammam’s strategy was to win a groundswell of support for the Qatari bid which would then influence the four African FIFA executive committee members who were able to take part in the election.
The Sunday Times also makes allegations about other named FIFA officials who will be enjoying a Brazilian jolly over the coming weeks in the company of Stewart Regan and Campbell Ogilvie.