FIFA Could Delay Selecting 2018/2022 World Cup Hosts

Continued accusations of bribery, vote-selling and collusion could cause FIFA to push back the date when they will select the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Currently, the 24-member executive committee is slated to vote on the hosts on December 2 in Zurich, Switzerland, but the executive committee will continue their two-day meeting in Zurich on Friday with the possibility of delaying the vote an option.

The executive committee, which will vote to decide on the four bidders for 2018 and five bidders for 2022, met for four hours on Thursday and while they did not directly discuss the possibility of delaying the vote, it is expected to be a topic of conversation when they reconvene on Friday. The voting procedure of the secret ballots for December, or possibly later, is also expected to be decided on Friday.

The executive committee is already short two members after Nigeria’s Amos Adamu and Tahiti’s Reynald Temarii were provisionally suspended as the ethics committee investigated accusations of both attempted to sell their votes for the World Cup host votes. The two are suspended until November, when the ethics committee is expected to have released their findings of their investigation and a further suspension is a possibility.

In addition to the two executive committee members under investigation, FIFA is also investigating alleged vote trading between Spain/Portugal’s 2018 bid and Qatar’s 2022 bid, something that is explicitly against FIFA rules. Both countries have denied the allegations.

In addition to Spain and Portugal’s joint bid for the 2018 World Cup, England, Russia and a joint bid with Netherlands and Belgium are also vying to host the event. Qatar is joined by Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States in bidding for the 2022 World Cup.

The executive committee will also get a progress report on preparations for the 2014 World Cup, hosted by Brazil. Following the meeting on Friday, FIFA President Sepp Blatter will hold a press conference.