Le Qatargate

[Danners9]

France Football is currently spamming my twitter timeline with retweets about an article they have exposing corruption in FIFA (NO!! NEVER!!) around the awarding of the WC2022 to Qatar (again, shock).

Hope that works.

Their presentation at the time was very good, in English, French and Spanish and with some very high profile royals from the Al-Thani family. I went to Qatar a few months before the decision and commented to new friends there that they would win, I was told by them (and they live there!) that there is no chance. Gambling, alcohol, weather for a summer tournament, the main reasons. I said that Qatar will want to show off the Middle East to the world in a different light to terrorism and religious extremism, and as Doha is relatively small but Qatar is immensely rich and ambitious there is essentially a blank canvas to do anything - absolutely anything.

Which, I guess, includes bribes. FIFA loves a bit of cash. It does also like expanding into new lands - one of the reasons Blatter is constantly voted in is the support from African nations for bringing the 2010 tournament to the continent. Lots of federations to vote for him there.

Qatar had Guardiola, one of the De Boers and Batistuta endorsing them as a host. All former players in the gulf state league.

The article is in French, and not up on the site in full yet. This just announces they have investigated and their findings will be in Tuesday's edition of the magazine. It talks about collusion and corruption, then asks whether the vote should be declared void and Qatar stripped of the tournament.
http://www.francefootball.fr/#!/news/2013/01/29/075154_et-si-on-reattribuait-le-mondial-2022.html

For what it's worth, Qatar would be an awesome place to hold a tournament IF the weather wasn't so fooking hot in the summer. Even the winter months are similar to European summers. They will make fanparks and have alcohol and gambling in designated areas to get around that. It's just so hot.

 

[tototoner]

I heard the Russia bid was legit also

 

[moomin]

i really hope that if this is true, the decision gets reversed and the 2022 world cup is awarded to the country that got 2nd place in voting (the united states, conveniently enough: my country )

 

[SugarRay]

I'm actually open to hosting in new countries, especially if they have a rich footballing history and a genuine love for the game. FIFA wanted to host the games to the Middle East, which is fair enough. Qatar doesn't fit the bill for me but its a safe option for that particular area.

Russia was fine by me as they are a major footballing nation who have not had the tournament.

Qatar? No footballing history, dire team ( should automatically disqualify any potential host ) but as I say above, safe option for the region.

 

[Gbspurs]

Tbh Russia isn't fine with me. Far to much racism in that country for it to sit right with me. I still think its a joke that we haven't had it since 66 especially considering Germany and Mexico have had it twice since then.

 

[KentuckyYid]

If it can be proved FIFA members were bribed then all the other nations who bid for the games should sue FIFA for every last penny they spent on their bids. It's not just the money, but an action like that would shake FIFA to its core and might actually clean it up. Also the games should be taken away from Qatar too accompanied with a lengthy ban from taking part in international footie..

 

[SugarRay]

Hopefully Russia get their house in order regarding the racial abuse.

They should use 2018 as their chance to tackle the issue.

Mexico stepped in to host for a 2nd time when Colombia pulled out of hosting 86. I can't see us getting it for donkeys years now.
Our best bet is that Europe gets awarded 2026 after a succesful Euro 2020 and Wembley gets to host a few games etc

2030 is a dead cert to be Uruguay ( quite right too )

 

[idontgetit]

Well thats France just written off their chances of ever hosting it again! Seriously though what an utterly wank place to have the World Cup. It's a fucking dessert with no footballing culture and no beer. I think it's got a population of something like half a million, 20% of which are just foreign workers and 80% of that half million live in the Capital. The place is tiny. Oh and it's too hot to play football. Wank

 

[dav3j]

Doesn't surprise me one tiny bit unfortunately. The whole bidding process reeked of corruption, I reckon backhanders would have been flying all over the place.

Why else would you host a major football tournament in a baking hot arid sandpit with no beer allowed and discriminatory, medieval laws?

 

[Danners9]

http://www.socceramerica.com/article/50138/qatargate-doubts-over-qatar-2022-linger.html

Summary

The accusations aren't exactly revelatory but they are numerous:

-- The votes of African confederation president Issa Hayatou(Cameroon) and Jacques Anouma (Ivory Coast) were bought for $1.5 million apiece, then the whistle-blower, former Qatari bid employee Phaedra Al Majid, mysteriously retracted, saying she made everything up.

-- Qatar "sponsored" the 2010 African confederation congress to the tune of $1.25 million to gain exclusive access to the four Africans on the FIFA executive committee.

-- One of the four, Nigerian Amos Adamu, was suspended from the executive committee before the vote following revelations in a Sunday Times sting investigations. The Qataris have subsequently been accused of seeking to "sponsor" a pre-World Cup 2010 banquet to the tune of $1 million. Its organizer: Adamu's son.

-- Then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked UEFA President Michel Platini, who was expected to support the USA, to vote for Qatar for geopolitical reasons. Sarkozy and Platini met with the Qatari crown prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in 2010 to discuss Qatari investment in French soccer. (It has since bought Paris St. Germain and launched beIN Sport in France.)

-- A Qatari representative offered to spend millions on pumping up ailing Argentine soccer to gain the vote of Argentine Julio Grondona.

-- Middle Eastern holding companies bankrolled deals struck by since-disgraced Brazilian soccer boss Ricardo Teixeira.

-- A sweetheart deal was struck with the Spanish federation to organize a friendly game in Qatar and "silence" Angel Maria Villar, who supposedly had a vote-swapping pact with Qatar to back Spain's 2018 World Cup bid with Portugal and was furious that in fact Russia won the 2018 contest easily.

-- The Qatari sports agency Aspire spent millions on promoting youth sports in countries with members on FIFA's executive committee.

 

[punky]

Who can make the bid void though? FIFA answer to no one.

I suppose if there is outright criminal activity then charges can be brought and be administrators brought in on a populist reforming wave of support and reopen the bidding.

 

[idontgetit]

Makes me wonder whether Russia's bid was clean. I some how doubt it but then that's coming from a biased angle given it screwed England. They probably deserve one but they'd never do it as well as us

 

[idontgetit]

Well thats France just written off their chances of ever hosting it again! Seriously though what an utterly wank place to have the World Cup. It's a fucking dessert with no footballing culture and no beer. I think it's got a population of something like half a million, 20% of which are just foreign workers and 80% of that half million live in the Capital. The place is tiny. Oh and it's too hot to play football. Wank

Woops lol

 

[Danners9]

Like warm apple pie.

I've been drunk in Qatar several times, quite easy to do really. That's why I mentioned the fanpark area for the changing of the rules. None of the 'medieval laws' will apply. Unless, of course, some drunken hooligans go on a rampage and destroy a bunch of mosques.. then, sorry, you deserve it.

 

[GeneralBurk]

Tbh Russia isn't fine with me. Far to much racism in that country for it to sit right with me. I still think its a joke that we haven't had it since 66 especially considering Germany and Mexico have had it twice since then.

Mexico only got '86 because Colombia had to pull out at the last minute due to a massive earthquake crippled the country.

 

[Gbspurs]

Mexico only got '86 because Colombia had to pull out at the last minute due to a massive earthquake crippled the country.

Fair enough. Still not happy though!

 

[beats1]

Fair enough. Still not happy though!

TBF if anything like that happened again England would get this time round imo

 

[beats1]

The report also highlighted that the prince had a meeting with Sarkozy, Platini and the owner of PSG which was coincidentally the club sarkozy supported to discuss Qatari investment in to France.

The magazine highlighted how a World cup would be very good for the French and ten days later Platini went back and casted a vote for the Qatari's. Then the Qatari's went and brought Sarkozy's favourite team a year later. They also created a new sports network called BEin Sports. Then as Martin Samuel says David Beckham came last week the same week the report was published and gave his wages(which isnt that much compared to image rights) to charity. Yet as most people say this isnt a PR stunts. Also interesting this coming from the French as it is normally propaganda from the British according to Fifa

 

[nightgoat]

When the votes were being made for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups I was working for a company that was producing a bunch of corporate video for various companies. About a week or so before the actual vote some footage came in for one job which had a kid doing keepy-uppies in a football stadium, presumably in Qatar and saying the line "[Company Name] helped to bring the 2022 World Cup to Qatar."

Now they may well have just filmed that in the hope Qatar would get the World Cup and that they could then use it, but it certainly raised my eyebrows.

 

[nailsy]

I like the idea of awarding the tournament to different nations, but this just looks so dodgy. I don't know why FIFA can't select a continent they want to visit for the next tournament and then invite offers.