European football officials have fired the latest salvo in the murky FIFA scandal. UEFA is set to meet on Friday to discuss holding an alternative World Cup in a bid to topple embattled FIFA chief Sepp Blatter.
European football officials have fired the latest salvo in the murky FIFA scandal. UEFA is set to meet on Friday to discuss holding an alternative World Cup in a bid to topple embattled FIFA chief Sepp Blatter.
The possibility of a split from FIFA might also be discussed, and this may be essential to holding a separate World Cup event.
The plan to boycott the World Cups in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 would involve European teams and some South American countries forming an alternative tournament.
The boycott plans come in the wake of Blatter's re-election as head of FIFA last week despite the arrest of over a dozen FIFA officials on suspcion of courrption during the bidding process for hosting World Cups. Blatter had earlier refused to step down, and is yet to be investigated.
The absence of several European and South American teams may deal a deadly blow to a FIFA World Cup, as most of the world's top footballing nations come from these two continents.
Russia, South Africa and Qatar are all under suspicion of involvement in paying bribes for votes in order to win the right to host the prestigious sports event.
FA chairman Greg Dyke told Channel 4 News that it was by no means certain the 2022 World Cup would be held in Qatar, and that Blatter had been "dismayed" that a third of countries had voted against him.
Any European breakaway would fatally undermine Blatter. A detective on UEFA's executive committee, said that boycotting the 2018 World Cup finals and setting up a rival tournament was the only way to reform football's scandal-plagued governing body.
Hansen's plan is that instead of playing the 2018 tournament, UEFA would withdraw from FIFA and play another European championships, inviting some of the biggest South American nations to compete as well.
It is believed Blatter would not be able to withstand a mass boycott of European nations, both in terms of the prestige of the tournament and the effect it would have on television and commercial rights. A final decision on a boycott would be made at the Uefa conference in Malta on 17 September.
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