A "top-secret" report into the "discredited bidding process" for the next two World Cups has been "dramatically leaked" after German newspaper Bild "started publishing extracts from the potentially-explosive document," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. The so-called "Garcia report," the 430-page findings of one of the "biggest investigations ever carried out within sport, began to appear online and it did not make good reading" for '22 host Qatar. According to one extract, the conduct of those seeking to bring football’s biggest tournament to the "tiny but mega-rich" Gulf state "served to undermine the integrity of the bidding process." That finding of the report, which was written in '14 by former FIFA chief investigator Michael Garcia, "appeared to contrast with a summary that was published in November of that year by the governing body’s head judge," Hans-Joachim Eckert. Garcia and Eckert "both cited the role played in Qatar’s bid by the Aspire Academy," the country’s high-tech sports facility. The Garcia Report concluded, "At a minimum, the targeting of Aspire-related resources to curry favour with executive committee members created the appearance of impropriety. Those actions served to undermine the integrity of the bidding process" (TELEGRAPH, 6/26). SKY SPORTS' Andy Charles reported FIFA responded to the leaking of the Garcia Report "by publishing it in full." A statement from FIFA on the publication of the entire report said, "The new chairpersons of the independent ethics committee, Maria Claudia Rojas of the investigatory chamber and Vassilios Skouris of the adjudicatory chamber, have decided to publish the Report on the Inquiry into the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup Bidding Process (the so-called 'Garcia Report'). This had been called for on numerous occasions by FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the past and also supported by the FIFA Council since its meeting in Mexico City in May 2016" (SKY SPORTS, 6/27). In London, Martyn Ziegler reported one finding detailed that a former FIFA exec committee member "congratulated members of the Qatari football federation and thanked them via email" for a transfer of "several hundred thousand euros" just after Qatar was awarded the '22 tournament in Dec. '10. Three other members of the FIFA exec committee were flown to Rio de Janeiro in a private jet belonging to the Qatari federation to "enjoy lavish hospitality" (LONDON TIMES, 6/27). The AP's Dunbar & Harris reported Bild began publishing extracts in its Tuesday edition, and "promises more revelations all week as FIFA leaders gather in Russia for the Confederations Cup final." The Garcia Report was "once expected to be explosive and became a holy grail for FIFA critics who thought the votes could be re-run." Bild journalist Peter Rossberg, who obtained the leaked copy, wrote on Facebook, "The (Garcia) report does not provide proof that the World Cup was bought in 2018 or 2022." The Bild reports are "not expected to provide a smoking gun," yet the Garcia Report has been a "crucial catalyst to exposing corruption" in the world of int'l footballing politics (AP, 6/27). The BBC reported Bild's report includes details of a $2M sum "allegedly paid to the 10-year-old daughter" of a FIFA official. Garcia quit in Dec. '14 "in protest at the handling of his report into the bidding process." He cited a "lack of leadership" as he left FIFA (BBC, 6/27).
PRINCE AND THE PM: Ziegler also reported Prince William and former British PM David Cameron were "present when a vote trading deal was agreed by the head of England's bid for the 2018 World Cup," the Garcia Report revealed. The secret report described a vote-trading deal between England 2018 Chair Geoff Thompson and Korea’s Chung Mong-Joon -- whose country was bidding for '22 -- which was "agreed at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich on the eve of the vote" in Dec. '10. Cameron and Prince William, the FA president, "were also at the meeting." The Garcia Report states, "Geoff Thompson, who was both the chairman of England’s 2018 bid team as well as a Fifa Vice President who voted on December 2, 2010, was the only member of the Fifa Executive Committee who admitted reaching an agreement to trade votes" (LONDON TIMES, 6/27).
