FIFA President Josef Blatter
(R) hands over the World Cup trophy to the Emir of the State of Qatar
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (L) and his wife Chair of Qatar
Foundation for Education, Science and Community development Sheikha Moza
bint Nasser Al-Mi
The Sunday Times
revealed this morning that they have received millions of secret
documents including emails, letters and bank transfers, which the paper
alleges are proof that Qatari football official Mohamed Bin Hammam made
payments totalling €3.6m to football officials in return for their
support for the bid to host the tournament.
It is alleged that the 65-year-old was lobbying other football officials on his country’s behalf at least a year before the announcement came in December 2010.
The Sunday Times claims that they have gathered emails that show Bin Hamman paid FIFA delegates in Africa to buy their support for the World Cup.
Although the vast majority of the officials did not have a vote, they allege Bin Hammam's strategy was to “win a groundswell of support for the Qatari bid which would then influence the four African FIFA executive committee members who were able to take part in the election.”
Qatar strongly deny any
wrongdoing and have insisted that Bin Hamman never had any official role
in the bid for the 2022 World Cup.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has
previously admitted that giving the World Cup to the Middle Eastern
state was a 'mistake', due to the exhausting summer heat.
Read the original article on Football Italia - The ultimate website for English-speaking fans of Italian football
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