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Greg Dyke rules out any England bid for a future World Cup Greg Dyke rules out any England bid for a future World Cup
(about 11 hours later)
Greg Dyke has ruled out England bidding for a World Cup and suggested that if Fifa is serious about wanting to reform itself it should think about electing a new president next year. England will not bid again to host a World Cup until Fifa and its bidding processes have been reformed, the Football Association chairman, Greg Dyke, has said.
The FA chairman appeared before the Culture Media and Sport select committee on Tuesday to answer questions over the bidding process for the 2022 tournament, which has been plagued by allegations of corruption and bribery. Dyke called for an overhaul of world football’s governing body and spelled out the FA’s open opposition to Sepp Blatter standing for a fifth term as the Fifa president next year, saying a new president might reform Fifa’s structure and governance after years of corruption scandals and allegations under Blatter.
Dyke said the FA would concentrate on bidding for Uefa rather than Fifa tournaments but said that withdrawing England’s membership of the world governing body was not an option. Dyke said that, while some other European associations also oppose Blatter’s candidacy among Fifa’s 209 national FAs, including those well served by investment from Fifa’s development programmes, the 78-year-old will command the majority in a vote.
“We’ve already taken the decision that we will not bid for Fifa tournaments – our decision is we will concentrate in the years ahead on bidding for Uefa tournaments,” Dyke said. England are competing with Germany to host the 2020 European Championship final and semi-finals. Appearing before the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee’s one-day inquiry into the Fifa vote to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Dyke said: “A lot of European FAs made it clear they didn’t support Blatter but I’m afraid from the rest of the world he has overwhelming support. If he runs again, he will win.”
“I don’t think we should walk out of Fifa because within a week everyone has forgotten you. I don’t think that sort of gesture-politics would help. I think trying to reform through Uefa and from the inside is the better way forward.” The pre-World Cup Fifa congress in São Paulo, Dyke said, was “like something out of North Korea”, in which the delegate countries’ attitude to Blatter was “hail to the leader”. Replying to the Labour MP Jim Sheridan, who asked if Blatter was “siphoning money to some FAs where he is buying their votes”, Dyke said that Fifa had announced $750,000 for development programmes to each FA around the world.
Last month the 78-year-old president Sepp Blatter announced he would run for a fifth term as Fifa decided not to impose an age limit nor maximum terms for officials. On the Qatar vote by Fifa’s executive committee in 2010 Dyke, like Fifa itself, said they must wait for the report by Fifa’s chief ethics investigator, Michael Garcia, into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The process, in which England spent £24m to win just one vote besides that of their own delegate, Geoff Thompson, is now bedevilled in corruption allegations, focused most recently by Sunday Times revelations about the activities of the Qatari Fifa executive committee member, Mohamed bin Hammam. Since the vote, several Fifa executive committee members have left or been banned for proven or alleged corruption, including Bin Hammam.
The Uefa president, Michel Platini, withdrew his support, insisting Fifa needed a “breath of fresh air”. Dyke called for widespread reform of Fifa but admitted it was unlikely to occur under Blatter. Qatar’s World Cup organising committee has denied any wrongdoing or formal connection to Bin Hammam.
“We think there’s a limited amount of time people should sit on the Fifa executive,” Dyke said. “We voted in favour of that but most voted against it. It’s that sort of reform that is needed to make sure we get proper turnover. Dyke told the committee it is “certain” that, if the World Cup does take place in Qatar, it will not be played in the summer. Fifa is consulting on the timing, but its secretary-general, Jérôme Valcke, has already indicated a switch from summer.
“Hopefully a new president coming in would take a look at the whole structure. A lot of the European FAs made it clear they didn’t support Blatter but I’m afraid from the rest of the world he has overwhelming support. If he runs again he will win but I think it’s unlikely we at the FA would vote for him.” Fifa said on Monday that Garcia’s report, due by the first week of September, will not be made public, only the ethics committee recommendations which result from it. Dyke told the committee he believes the report itself should be published.