FIFA chief Gianni Infantino says 2026 World Cup bidding process will be 'beyond reproach'
Thursday 6 October 2016 13:05, UK
FIFA president Gianni Infantino insists the 2026 World Cup bidding process will be free of the controversy which surrounded the selection of Russia and Qatar as the next two hosts.
The former UEFA general secretary was responding to a recent claim by US President Barack Obama that decisions on who stages the Olympic Games and World Cups may be corrupt.
"I can't speak about the past, but what I can promise is that we need to look very seriously at the application process for 2026 to assure ourselves that the process is transparent and beyond reproach," he said.
In the wake of corruption scandals involving FIFA since May 2015, there had been calls for re-votes or cancellations of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the renewal in Qatar four years later.
Infantino, who took up his post at the game's governing body in February this year, says he will ensure the technical report for the 2026 finals "will mean something concrete and is not just a political vote".
"It's our job to do this, to ensure that the process will be open and transparent, that those who must take responsibility take it and ensure that decisions taken from now or since February 26 are definitely not faked," he added.
Recalling how Chicago lost the bid to host the 2016 Olympics, Obama said in an interview: "I think we've learned that IOC's decisions are similar to FIFA's decisions: a little bit cooked."
Infantino, 46, who was the right-hand man of suspended Michel Platini in his career at UEFA, succeeded the disgraced Sepp Blatter at the head of FIFA, and is determined to stamp his own authority on the job as president and on the sport's future.
"I was elected on a programme of reforms, I have a lot of belief in these reforms and their implementation" he said,
"FIFA needs to do more football and less politics. There is obviously still work to do but I am quite happy and confident about the future."
