Breaking News: Russian bid denies claims of bribery and corruption as FIFA comes under pressure
In the latest set of news which has come forth after various allegations have been levelled at Russia’s bid for the 2018 World Cup, Alexei Sorokin has come out and dismissed all claims of collusion after Russia was awarded the hosting rights for the 2018
World Cup. Russia fought off competition from favourites England as well as the power houses Spain/Portugal to capture the hosting rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
England who were the outright favourites to win the 2018 hosting rights were knocked out in the first round of the voting process in Zurich, as they just managed to secure 2 votes out of the total 22. In the second round Russia, captured 13 votes as Spain/Portugal
and Netherlands and Belgium fell short of the required mark. British media has been especially forth right with its allegations that FIFA has been bribed into awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia. Before the voting was held in Zurich on 2nd of
December 2010, the English media undertook some unethical techniques as they unveiled the bribery and the corruption circles that prevail in FIFA’s executive committee.
Some experts have suggested that this bold move by the English media came back to haunt England during the voting process as most of the 22 members of the executive committee voted for other bids in competition. Despite of the fact that England had one of
the best organized bids for the 2018 World Cup, their knockout in the first round of voting was a surprise to everyone including the likes of David Beckham and Prince William, who were present in Zurich when Sepp Blatter made the final announcement.
Russia received a total of nine votes in the first round of voting and then received 13 in the second round of voting to seal their spot as the hosts of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Alexei Sorokin, chief executive of Russia’s 2018 bid has denied reports that
have time and again suggested that there was some sort of “collusion” between the members of FIFA’s executive committee and the Russian bid.
Sorokin remarked, "We never saw any evidence of collusion. The Spanish bid before the vote in their interview said they would have about seven or eight votes and it happened this way, so they were right in their assessment. We did not find any spirit or
atmosphere of collusion. We are grateful to all FIFA members who supported us."
As the 2018 World Cup has now been awarded to Russia, doubts have emerged over the Siberian nation’s ability to organize an excellent tournament. The lack of infrastructure in some areas of the country as well as the backwardness of its stadia facilities
have been touted as some of the reasons for these doubts in question. Other issues include security worries and transport problems; however Sorokin assured that Russia will host a 2018 World Cup to remember.
The Russian national said, "They [security concerns] will be addressed by perfect organization of that tournament, including security measures. We have a lot of experience in that we have hosted a lot of international events without a single security issue,
without a single incident and World Cup 2018 will not be an exception. It will be very well organized."
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