World Cup 2018 questions: why is the tournament being held in Russia?
Why is the 2018 World Cup being held in Russia? And why is the 2022 World Cup being held in Qatar?
As we count down to the kick-off in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on June 14, we explain why the tournament is taking place in Russia despite security concerns and corruption fears.
It's estimated that hosting the World Cup might cost £10billion. Nations think that it increases their international prestige, and there are also benefits for business.
Here's how Russia won.
Do I recall something about a bid?
Back in 2009, football’s global body Fifa asked for applications from countries that wanted to host either the 2018 or the 2022 World Cup. Some countries wanted to do a joint-tournament with a neighbouring country. Aw. Football fwends.
Bids would be judged on criteria like: is the country suitable for having 32 teams and sets of fans visiting, are there enough big stadiums, will it help spread the global gospel of football and, as it turned out, is there a little bit of a backhander involved to help some of the Fifa men decide who the should vote for.
South Korea, Qatar, Japan, Australia and United States were only interested in the 2022 World Cup. England, Russia, Belgium & Netherlands jointly, and Portugal & Spain jointly threw their hats in the ring for either 2018 or 2022.
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And then the fun really started
England’s bid was led by Lord David Triesman but he had to step down in 2010 for telling a newspaper that Spain and Russia were trying to bribe referees. He repeated the claims to a parliamentary select committee.
Fifa were, like: HOW DARE YOU.
Everyone in English football was, like: Listen, Lord Dave. Nobody in football worldwide likes England (colonialism, hooliganism, various other -isms) as it is. Don’t upset the Fifa people, we’re trying to win a beauty contest here.
Triesman resigned. England got a much better David, David Beckham, to sprinkle a bit of stardust on the bid, and even got Prince William on board. An actual prince! These foreigners will have to come into line now, England thought.
England versus Fifa corruption: innocents abroad
A suit called Geoff Thompson was put in charge of England’s. He was supposed to have the inside-track on how things were done because he had been a big cheese in Fifa.
England were in a pickle. They probably suspected that the bidding process was moody, but they didn’t know how to negotiate through it and also felt they had to play it straight.
England, on paper, had a decent case: lots of famous stadiums, history, footballing culture, functional infrastructure (we didn’t mention the trains too much).
Bear in mind that this is all happening before the triumph of the London Olympics in 2012.
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The other bids
Belgium & Netherlands didn’t have a really big (80,000+) stadium. They and the Iberian duo were felt to be the outsiders, and that it would be England and Russia who were the most likely.
That nice Vladimir Putin had taken a special personal interest in the Russia bid for several years. Sports minister Vitaly Mutko was said to have a ten billion dollar war chest to play with.
The voting
In the end, it was a rout. The Fifa executive committee of 24 voted (apart from Reynald Temarii of Tahiti and Amos Adamu of Nigeria, who were suspended after getting caught up in a newspaper sting).
England got just two of the votes and were knocked out in the first round. A bit like their football team.
Russia got nine votes in the first round, Holland/Belgium four, Spain/Portugal seven. In the second round, Russia got 13 votes and that was enough.
(Because the 2018 World Cup was to be held in Europe, that continent wouldn’t be holding the 2022 edition. Qatar were always well ahead in the voting and won the day.)
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Reactions, then?
Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeneß said that “a bid nowadays can only be successful if payments are additionally made under the table.”
As mentioned, Lord Treisman told a House of Commons select committee that four FIFA committee members approached him asking for goodies in exchange for their votes. One, Nicolas Leoz, allegedly asked to be knighted.
It was widely felt that England had been hard done-by, and it was rumoured that the British media's investigations into FIfa corruption had caused bad feeling.
Was it bent?
FIFA Vice President Jack Warner wanted £2.5million for “projects”.
The Sunday Times reported that two committee members, Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma were given $1.5 million in exchange for their votes in favor of Qatar.
David Yallop, author of How They Stole The Game
The trouble was that we played it down the line – which is hardly the Fifa way. When it comes to cutting deals and calling in favours, Fifa delegates don’t resort to anything as vulgar as envelopes stuffed with cash these days. Back-scratching comes in various other forms, including all-expenses-paid trips and tickets to World Cup events, a wonderful currency that can be sold on the open market for cash. I’m told that other Fifa members prefer expensive jewellery.
What was the fall-out?
US lawyer Michael J. Garcia was asked to prepare a report on the scandal, which he did.
He delivered it to the Fifa Ethics Committee (yes, really) which amazingly found that there was nothing to worry about.
US Federal Prosecutors were not so sure, though and subsequently opened up a far-reaching corruption investigation. A variety of Ffia Executive Committee members eventually plead guilty. The Swiss courts are also taking a run at Sepp Blatter, who was banned from football.
Fortunately, you never hear about Russia interfering in elections though so everything’s definitely okay now.
A history of Fifa corruption
So: did Russia do anything wrong?
David Cameron said in April: “We wanted to lead the world in great sporting events that bring people together. Yet how did Russia end up winning the bid for the 2018 World Cup? I will let you fill in the blanks on that one.”
Has anyone come up with any evidence? No, not really.
It should be said that Russia's bid had lots of things going for it: there is a football culture in the country, there are lots of big stadiums, there is clear government support.
Qatar 2022 is the real shocker: a tiny state, 50 degree temperatures, zero history of football, stadiums being built by indentured workers in appalling conditions...
Does it matter how the bid was won?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. If the World Cup in Russia is a success, most fans won’t care.
There is also the argument that everyone’s at it, as made by Gary Lineker in the Radio Times:
‘Who are we to start getting judgmental on who should have the World Cup? We all know how corrupt our country is at times."
Regardless of how it was won, the World Cup is coming to Russia this month. Four more years: Qatar!
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