Ishmael
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- Oct 18, 2011
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Former Asian Football Confederation President Mohammed Bin Hammam is alleged to have paid out £3 million in bribes to football officials to secure support for the 2022 Qatar world cup bid
Leading MPs have called on Fifa to strip Qatar of the 2022 World Cup after it emerged illicit payments of £3 million were made to corrupt officials.
John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons culture select committee, said: 'There is now an overwhelming case that the decision to where the World Cup should be held in 2022 should be run again.'
Conservative MP Damian Collins, who submitted a private members bill to Parliament last month that would fight corruption in football, also called for the process to be re-run.
A damning email dossier shows how Mohamed Bin Hammam former president of the Asian Football Confederation used the slush fund to garner support for Qatar's bid to host the tournament.
The Sunday Times reports that the bribes helped sway key members of FIFAs 24-man ruling committee into giving the green light for the Arab emirate to host the tournament, despite its lack of football infrastructure.
It is alleged that delegates who decided upon the destination of the 2022 competition were treated to lavish junkets and large cash payments to secure their support.
The secret dossier provides evidence of £3 million in cash payments to football officials across the globe in order to secure support for the Qatari bid.
When the decision was announced, there was shock as the Gulf state has no tradition of football or any suitable stadiums.
[h=4]More...[/h]
- Sepp Blatter: FIFA made a 'mistake' awarding 2022 summer World Cup to Qatar and instead will 'probably' delay the tournament until winter
- Jack Warner to fight legal action over owning luxury centre of excellence that was handed funding by FIFA
- Football agent caught on video promising to arrange a yellow card for £41,000 in criminal plot to fix games during the World Cup
Also, concerns were raised that with temperatures exceeding 50c, it would be dangerous for both players and supporters.
During one session in 2008, Bin Hammam is believed to have handed over $200,000 in cash to 25 delegates who had been flown to Kuala Lumpur to discuss the bid.
It is alleged that African football officials received cash payments up to $80,000 from accounts controlled by Bin Hammam.
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FIFA president Sepp Blatter, right, awarded the competition to Gulf state following a vote in December 2010
The disclosures come less than two weeks before Brazil is set to host the World Cup and will heap pressure on the tiny desert state.
One official sought $232,000 to be paid into his personal bank account which he said would be used to develop football pitches.
Bin Hammam was banned from world football 2011 after he was discovered bribing officials during his bid to get elected Fifa president.
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Fifa is now under pressure to re-examine the Qatari bid as a result of the latest corruption allegations
The Qatari World Cup committee now face an investigation by Fifa's ethics investigator Michael Garcia.
The New York lawyer is due to fly out to the middle east next week to investigate the controversial competition bid.
Among the shocking allegations, The Sunday Times alleges that former Caribbean football chief Jack Warner was paid $450,000 before the 2010 bid.
[h=3]COUNTING THE COSTS: QATAR 2022[/h]Qatar, which holds the worlds third-largest natural-gas reserves, plans to spend more than $200 billion on new infrastructure before hosting the sporting event.
This is expected to include $34 billion on a rail and metro system, $7 billion on a port and $17 billion on an airport.
The stadiums will cost $4 billion, according to the ministry of business and trade.
However, the Middle Eastern state of two million people is facing delays and escalating costs related to the event.
Work started later than planned on the metro system, and the opening of the new airport is six years behind schedule.
It originally announced plans for 12 stadiums, including nine new playing fields and three refurbishments, but that has bee cut to eight.
Fifa decided to announce the winners of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids on the same day in 2010, when they awarded the competition to Russia and then Qatar.
England had run a campaign to host the competition in 2018, but were humiliated when they received only two votes.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William played a central role to the failed English bid.
Only last month, FIFA president Sepp Blatter admitted it had been a mistake to hand the tournament to Qatar after technical assessors had said the searing temperatures could be harmful to players.
The revelations emerged as it was reported that police were probing World Cup match-fixing involving Nigeria.
A football agent was secretly filmed claiming that Nigerian footballers were willing to rig ties in Brazil for cash, saying: 'I know the games, I know the system.'
Members of the Qatar delegation denied that Bin Hammam had any role in their successful bid, while members of his family refused to comment on the issue.
[h=2]Qatar 2022: One of sport's most[/h]
Read more: Calls for 2022 World Cup bid to be re-run Qatar bribery claims | Mail Online
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[TD]Qatar Bribed FIFA for World Cup[/TD]
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