FIFA to investigate report of World Cup vote-selling

Sunday, 17 October 2010 21:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - World soccer’s governing body FIFA said on Sunday it would investigate a newspaper report that two members of its executive committee had offered to sell their votes in the contest to host the 2018 World Cup.

Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper said the offers had been made to its reporters who were working undercover and posed as lobbyists for a consortium of American private companies.

The report said Nigeria’a Amos Adamu was filmed asking for money for a personal project and that Oceania Football Confederatinon president Reynald Temarii from Tahiti wanted money for a sports academy.

FIFA will decide on Dec. 2 in Zurich which countries will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The choices will be made by the 24-strong executive committee

“FIFA has already requested to receive all of the information and documents related to this matter (the Sunday Times report), and is awaiting to receive this material,” FIFA said in a statement.

“In any case, FIFA will immediately analyse the material available and only once this analysis has concluded will FIFA be able to decide on any potential next steps.

“In the meantime, FIFA is not in a position to provide any further comments on this matter.”