Revealed: World Cup circus that humiliated William WAS rigged
THE humiliation of England over its failed World Cup bid was complete last night.
The Football Association spent £21million and used Prince William in a high-profile role to try to secure the 2018 tournament – but yesterday it emerged that it was all in vain.
The decision to hand the event to Russia had been ‘agreed’ before FIFA delegates had even voted on rival bids, the suspended world football boss Sepp Blatter said.
His admission of a FIFA stitch-up caused outrage.
The failed bid – spearheaded by Prince William, David Cameron and David Beckham – was embarrassingly defeated in the first round of voting, picking up just two of 22 possible votes from football’s world governing body.
It immediately brought questions over why the future king had been put in the position of having to woo the tarnished power-brokers of world football.
While Blatter, 79, did not explain who ‘agreed’ where the 2018 tournament would be held, he told the Russian news agency TASS that Russia would succeed. ‘In 2010 we had a discussion of the World Cup and then we went to a double decision,’ he said.
‘It was agreed that we go to Russia because it’s never been in Russia, eastern Europe – and for 2022 we go back to America. And so we will have the World Cup in the two biggest political powers.’
The FA spent £21million on England’s 2018 bid, which included £2.5million from local authorities.
FA chairman Greg Dyke said yesterday it would be ‘very nice’ to get that money back.
Giving evidence to the Commons culture, media and sport select committee, he added: ‘Nothing Mr Blatter says surprises me much.
‘If he is saying “we wanted Russia” and it looks like he wanted that fixed before the vote, it’s suggest- ing that it was all fixed anyway.’ Asked if the FA might look to reclaim the bid costs, he replied: ‘We will obviously go back and look at it. I think it would be a good idea. But get the bid costs back from whom? From FIFA?’
Prince William, the Prime Minister, London Mayor Boris Johnson and former England captain Beck- ham were all heavily involved in the attempt to have England’s bid accepted by FIFA delegates.
At the time of the decision in December 2010 the Daily Mail’s front page questioned the vote with a front page headline: ‘World Cup: Was it a Stitch-Up?’.
There was talk of ‘shady backroom deals’ and No10 showed the anger of the Prime Minister when it said he did not plan to congratulate President Putin.
Yesterday Blatter added that the decision not to take the tournament to the US in 2022 came after Michel Platini, the UEFA boss who is also currently suspended, decided he wanted Qatar to be hosts.
Blatter said things changed when Nicolas Sarkozy, who was French president at the time, met the Qatari crown prince. ‘At a lunch afterwards with Mr Platini he said it would be good to go to Qatar,’ he said.
Blatter also blamed Platini, who is a FIFA vice- president, for causing the current problems for world football’s ruling body, stating that the Frenchman was desperate to lead FIFA.
Both men are currently suspended from all football activities for 90 days amid a corruption investigation by the Swiss authorities.