Is the US the true winner of the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup? If we are to believe the tweet of commentator Jorge Ramos of ESPN, it might have been so. The Twitter post is no longer available, but Buzzfeed said Ramos's tweet said something about FIFA calling upon the US to be ready should the world soccer organization strip Qatar's rights to host one of the biggest sporting events in the world in 2022.
Qatar's win against US and other countries for the rights to host the World Cup in a ceremony back in December 2010 was overshadowed with allegations that Qatari officials may have bribed themselves with enough votes to secure a win.
RT News said FIFA has already launched an investigation to look into the matter, which is currently being carried out by investigator Michael Garcia. Garcia's comments to the AFP indicated that there might be at least some truth to the allegations, as he said, "The vast majority of that material has been available to us for some time, since well before the recent wave of newspaper reports. That material has been and will continue to be examined and reviewed to the extent relevant to the investigation into the World Cup bidding process or any other investigation or inquiry."
Garcia also added that he would be using the documents that were published on British newspaper Sunday Times in his probe on Qatar's win.
As FIFA's report on the results of the investigation is due to come out next month, President Sepp Blatter seemed eager to retract the soccer organization's decision to award the hosting rights ahead of the probe report. The Guardian said Blatter's vote during the auction was believed to have been for the US.
In an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS, Blatter said, "Yes, it was a mistake of course, but one makes lots of mistakes in life. The technical report into Qatar said clearly it was too hot but the executive committee - with a large majority - decided all the same to play it in Qatar."
