Fifa World Cup 2026 Bidding Delayed
The bidding process for the 2026 World Cup, due to take place in May 2017, has been postponed amid allegations around the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke claimed it would be “nonsense” to begin the process in the current climate, for which the United States are currently front-runners to stage the tournament.
Canada, Mexico and Colombia are also thought to be interested in hosting the competition.
Russia and Qatar were selected to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups by a secret ballot of FIFA’s 22 executive members in 2010, however Swiss prosecutors are now investigating alleged financial irregularities surrounding the bidding process.
Both Russia and Qatar have denied any wrongdoing.
Following on from Sepp Blatter’s resignation as president of FIFA, the executive committee has suggested that 16th December 2015 is the best date to hold elections to elect his successor.
The BBC reported on the new date, saying: “The BBC has learned that is the likely date for an emergency meeting in Zurich to decide his successor.”
“A final decision on the date for a presidential election is not expected to be made until July, but it is believed holding an emergency congress in mid-December is Blatter’s preferred option,” the BBC added.
