In May 2015, seven Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) officials were arrested at the Hotel Baur

In May 2015, seven Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) officials were arrested at the Hotel Baur au Lac in Zurich as they were preparing to attend the 65th FIFA Congress.143 The arrests were tied to a multiyear investigation by the United States into collusion between FIFA officials and firms, including Al Jazeera (now beIN sport). The alleged collusion included the payment of at least $400 million in bribes by the firms in exchange for lucrative broadcasting and hosting rights for prestigious soccer tournaments.

The Qatari government also offered FIFA an additional $480 million, according to Sporting News Canada.¹⁴⁴ More than 40 other officials, executives, and corporations around the world have since been charged. Many pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against others to secure leniency.¹⁴⁵ This scandal has cast a spotlight on Qatar, the host of the 2022 soccer World Cup. Qatar’s selection to host the world’s most prestigious tournament has been tainted for a number of years by suspicions about the individuals who supported the bid of a rich nation that lacked facilities to host the event. The Chicago Tribune reported on an Argentine marketing executive who paid bribes for media rights and then made a deal with prosecutors to testify during the first trial of FIFA executives in a U.S. courthouse. The Argentinian did not provide bribes for the Qatari World Cup bid, but he was told of the Qatari bribes by FIFA members. This executive noted that one of the FIFA members sold his vote for Qatar for a paltry $1.5 million and then complained that another voting member got tens of millions more. Some voting members of FIFA have been charged as part of the corruption scandal but have yet to be extradited to the United States for trial. Another Argentine witness testified that a ledger of bribes, including payments of $750,000 and $500,000 to South American soccer federation presidents, was found. Though these presidents did not have World Cup hosting votes, the payments were labeled “Q2022.”¹⁴⁶ Qataris’ alleged bribing of FIFA officials could be cultural. Bribery in the Middle East continues to be more acceptable than in North America and Europe.

For example, Transparency International states that in the Middle East, “most countries are failing in the fight against corruption.”¹⁴⁷ The region has an average score of 39/100 on the organization’s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index. The United States scores 71/100 on the same index.¹⁴⁸

Though the Middle East has a poor reputation when it comes to corruption, FIFA claims it has been unable to uncover evidence that would lead it to prevent Qatar from hosting the World Cup. Qatar also continues to deny it acted improperly or bought its right to host the tournament.

Questions

What option would you choose if you were running FIFA?

1. Qatar should be stripped of its right to host the 2022 World Cup. There is obviously evidence of bribery and such an important tournament should not be tainted.

2. So far, prosecutors have not uncovered anything directly tying the Qataris to the corruption scandal.

Stripping Qatar of its hosting privileges while it is building the infrastructure to host the tournament will lead to millions, or possibly billions, of dollars in losses and a significant number of lost jobs. Do nothing.

3. FIFA should have a third party open its own investigation of the events leading up to Qatar’s being granted hosting privileges. The conclusion of this investigation should dictate what happens to the 2022 bid.

4. Suggest other options.