FFA might re-bid if Qatar stripped of WC22

Calls for Qatar to be stripped of the 2022 World Cup are growing louder amid fresh corruption claims, with Australia possibly re-bidding to host the event.

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Australia is keeping its options for another crack at hosting the 2022 World Cup open after fresh corruption allegations emerged about Qatar's successful campaign.

FFA chief executive David Gallop on Monday would not rule out Australia re-entering the race if Qatar was stripped of the World Cup.

There have been fresh calls for a re-vote for the 2022 hosting rights after Britain's Sunday Times said it had obtained millions of emails, accounts and documents from a "senior FIFA insider" relating to alleged payments totalling $US5 million ($A5.4 million) by Mohamed bin Hammam, a Qatari former FIFA executive committee member.

The report claimed Bin Hammam, also a former Asian Football Confederation president, used slush funds to pay cash to top football officials to win a "groundswell" of support for Qatar's World Cup bid - ahead of rivals the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia.

"It's a serious development, they're serious allegations and we're looking to see what the response to that will be," Gallop told SEN radio.

"It's too early to say whether that re-opens the door of anything that happened a few years ago in terms of Australia's position but it's a bit of a 'watch this space' at this stage.

"We'd obviously have to make a decision if we were to go down that road, but we're not at that stage yet.

"We need to get more information about what's been revealed in the last 48 hours."

Gallop said FFA had been heavily involved in the FIFA investigation into the 2010 vote that awarded the 2022 showpiece to Qatar and the 2018 event to Russia following previous corruption accusations.

A report by chief investigator Michael Garcia, a top US lawyer, is to be finalised this year. Garcia was scheduled to meet Qatari bid officials on Monday in Oman.

"Don't be under any illusion that we haven't been heavily involved in all of this for some time now," said Gallop.

"We've been involved in interviews, production of documents and also following carefully what's been happening away from Australia.

"So we've got people that have been involved for some time now."

Australia spent $43 million - much of it taxpayers' money - on its bid for the World Cup and officials were shattered when they received only one vote as Qatar dominated, winning from the United States in a final-round vote.

Qatar's organising committee has "vehemently" denied all allegations of wrongdoing, insisting bin Hammam played no official or unofficial role in the bid.

"We will take whatever steps are necessary to defend the integrity of Qatar's bid and our lawyers are looking into this matter," it said in a statement.

But calls for the World Cup to be stripped from Qatar are growing louder, with both FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce and England's Football Association chairman Greg Dyke voicing their support for a new vote if the allegations can be proven.

Former England striker Gary Lineker, now a broadcaster with the BBC, agreed.

"I think FIFA need another vote. The best candidate for 2022, given 2018 is in Europe was, and still is, Australia," he posted on Twitter.


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Source: AAP


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