ever hosting of the football World Cup in 2022 is being marred by an unseemly fight for the FIFA presidency between the 13-year incumbent Sepp Blatter and his main rival Mohammad Bin Hammam, the Qatari who heads the Asian Football Confederation. Some argue that this battle is typical of FIFA, which they allege is riddled with corrupt, ego-driven individuals. This latest debacle is not helping to counter this perception. It's hard not to see the allegations and counter-allegations between Bin Hammam and Blatter being connected to the presidential race. The elections take place on Wednesday, June 1. To recap: Bin Hammam and FIFA vice president Jack Warner face an ethics committee hearing in Zurich Sunday over allegations stemming from a May 10 to 11 campaign trip to Trinidad. It is alleged that at the meeting bundles of cash, in rolls of 40,000 dollars, were handed over, ostensibly payments for voting for Qatar. Bin Hammam has denied the claims and hit back asking FIFA to investigate Blatter, arguing that if he knew about the alleged cash payments he should have reported it. So now Blatter, who denies the claims, also faces a FIFA ethics panel Sunday. Warner and three other FIFA executive members are also charged with allegations they made “improper requests” to the English, during their failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup. So how does all this affect Qatar's hosting of the world's second most prestigious sporting event after the Olympics? Well, it seems there have been suggestions that if the allegations are proven, then Qatar could lose their chance to host the event in 2022. This would be quite right of course. But it must be remembered that these claims come from certain individuals in England and the United States, which some say is just a matter of sour grapes and vindictiveness for those countries having lost the 2018 and 2022 bids. It is extremely doubtful that Qatar will lose 2022, but this whole affair again raises serious questions about the way FIFA is run and how voting takes place for host countries. To prevent this type of fiasco, there should be new rules drafted for contact between FIFA members and host country officials. And maybe FIFA does need new blood to bring about some much
