GENEVA
The FIFA 2026 World Cup bidding process has been put on hold amid investigations and allegations concerning the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 tournaments.
"It was decided to place the administrative process on hold for the 2026 FIFA World Cup bidding due to the current situation," a FIFA representative told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
"Further decisions regarding the 2026 FIFA World Cup bidding process will be discussed by the FIFA Executive Committee at a later date," the representative added.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently indicted 14 individuals on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering that involved world football’s governing body.
Seven of those were arrested in Zurich and are awaiting extradition to the U.S. Four others had already been charged.
The case has sent shockwaves across the world, forcing longtime FIFA head Sepp Blatter to announce his resignation on June 2, four days after being re-elected.
Domenico Scala, head of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, told a Swiss newspaper recently that Russia and Qatar could lose their FIFA World Cup hosting rights should allegations of corruption in the bidding process be verified.
