The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Australia may resubmit 2022 World Cup bid

20th May, 2011
120
3222 Reads
Australia's former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and FFA Chairman Frank Lowy center left, at Parliament House in Canberra. AP Photo/Rob Griffith

Australia may make another bid to host the 2022 World Cup following allegations of corruption in FIFA. The federal government controversially spent $45 million to garner just one vote among soccer’s governing body.

Qatar was granted hosting rights, but if corruption claims about FIFA are proven, Australia could put in another bid, News Limited newspapers report.

“We were disappointed not to win the right to host the 2022 World Cup and believe if given the chance we could put on the best-ever World Cup,” federal Sports Minister Mark Arbib said.

Two FIFA executive members are alleged to have taken bribes of $1.5 million each to vote for Qatar, which won the hosting rights in December last year.

Meanwhile, Fairfax newspapers report that two controversial European lobbyists were paid millions of dollars to work on Australia’s 2022 World Cup bid without the knowledge of the federal government.

Fairfax said Football Federation Australia never sought approval from the government before using part of the $45 million World Cup grant to hire Peter Hargitay and Fedor Radmann to lobby FIFA officials and direct Australia’s bid strategy.

The report said documents obtained under freedom of information laws show the government wrote to FFA after it learned of Mr Hargitay and Mr Radmann’s involvement to seek details about their remuneration.

Advertisement

The report said Mr Radmann has been a person of interest in a recent Austrian criminal probe into alleged misuse of funds for Salzburg’s 2014 Winter Olympics bid and other matters, while Mr Hargitay was twice acquitted for cocaine trafficking in the 1990s.

close