With FIFA President Sepp Blatter's resignation, future World Cup hosts Russia and Qatar "lost the strongest supporter of their bids," according to Jones & White of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. FIFA now is "likely to face further calls for a revote on both tournaments, or a transparent probe into how they were awarded." Russian officials "have expressed confidence that the probes won't affect" their bid to host in '18. Meanwhile, Egyptian FA spokesperson Azzmy Megahed said Qatar’s chances of hosting the '22 World Cup have “dwindled drastically” with Blatter’s resignation (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/3). However, the FINANCIAL TIMES' Moore & Hille note Qatar "has dismissed speculation" that it risks losing the '22 event. Qatar FA President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani said the country had already been "cleared of any wrongdoing" by former U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia and his internal FIFA investigation last year (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/3). England FA Chair Greg Dyke: "At long last we can sort out FIFA. We can go back to looking at those two World Cups." In N.Y., Bill Price notes FIFA "last switched a World Cup host" in '86, when Colombia withdrew four years before the event due to "financial problems." Mexico "beat out the U.S. as the substitute host nation" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/3). USA TODAY's Martin Rogers notes Blatter's decision, on the surface, "would appear to be tremendous news" for the U.S., which finished second to Qatar in the initial voting process. Dyke: "If I was the Qatari organizers, I wouldn't sleep very well tonight." But Rogers notes if Qatar were stripped, the U.S. "would not be an automatic selection or even necessarily a favorite going into a revote" (USA TODAY, 6/3). Former England FA Dir of of Corporate Affairs Simon Johnson, who served as COO for England's failed '18 World Cup bid, yesterday said, "Any improper behaviour on the part of any bidders ... then FIFA should have an open bidding process." Johnson: "(The 2022) bid is another matter. Moving it to winter ... there's going to be a lot of resistance now" (BBC, 6/2).
FACE THE NATION: In L.A., Kevin Baxter notes following Blatter's decision, "losers could include" Russia President Vladimir Putin. However, but it is "unlikely that FIFA, no matter who's in charge, would risk a fight with Putin." And with Russia's event "just two years away, there may not be enough time to relocate." However, Qatar "is a different story," as its host chances could "be in trouble" (
L.A. TIMES, 6/3). Also in L.A., Wharton & Fenno note if FIFA "were to make a move, it might have to choose a country that already has enough stadiums in place." The field would "probably be limited to major nations such as Germany, Spain, England, the U.S. and China" (
L.A. TIMES, 6/3). SI's Grant Wahl said the U.S. is "ready and willing at any point to put on a wonderful event, and we could pull it off. ... We're always ready" (
"America's Pregame," FS1, 6/2). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel noted the U.S., England, Canada, Germany and "a bunch of other nations could easily host" the '22 event. It "hardly matters as long as it isn't Qatar." If FIFA "wants to show that post-Blatter it stands for more than reforming executive councils and drafting anti-corruption standards that only a matter a little, then start with the profound" (
SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/2). The FINANCIAL TIMES' Simon Kuper writes even if FIFA "doesn't clean itself up, it is hard to see it stripping Russia and Qatar." That could "cause geopolitical ructions between the west," Putin and "parts of the Islamic world" (
FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/3).
