By David Gold
November 28 – Frank Lowy, the chairman of the Australian Football Federation (FFA), has indicated that he believes that Qatar could yet lose the right to host the World Cup in 2022.
Australia lost out when Qatar controversially won the bid to host the tournament, going out in the first round of voting, with the Gulf nation winning the final round against the United States, who had been the favourites.
The voting procedure was heavily criticised for allowing two World Cups to be awarded at the same time.
It led to allegations of collusion between rival bids across the two World Cup campaigns, with Spain and Portugal’s 2018 bid team accused of forming an alliance with Qatar 2022, whereby they would support each other in the final vote.
Though this was fervently denied, both bids faced a FIFA investigation during the bidding process, and that such a possibility was ever open has led to FIFA President Sepp Blatter acknowledging that the dual announcement was a mistake which would not be repeated.
Qatar has also been accused of buying the World Cup, having spent millions on ambassadors such as former football stars Gabriel Batistuta and Zinedine Zidane, as well as investing huge sums in their Aspire football academies in several nations of FIFA Executive Committee members.
The 81-year-old Lowy was re-elected to his post as head of the FFA today, and said: “I don’t know whether you recall when I came back from that fateful day [after losing the bid] and I said, Tthis is not the last word about awarding the World Cup’.
“Well it wasn’t the last word and the last word hasn’t been heard yet.
“Don’t ask me to elaborate because I don’t have a crystal ball, but the media all over the world talking is about that, the awarding particularly of 2022, the state of the FIFA Executive Committee – all that stuff.
“I don’t exactly know where it will bounce – the only thing I know is it’s not over yet.”
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