Intense lobbying ahead of vote

Dec 02, 2010 |

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FIFA

Dec. 1: The frenzied race for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups entered the home straight here on Wednesday as rival bids prepared to make final presentations on the eve of the scandal-tainted vote.

The five countries battling for the 2022 football extravaganza — Australia, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Qatar — were to showcase their bids in 30-minute pitches to voters at Fifa headquarters in Zurich.

High-powered delegations from the countries slugging it out for the 2018 tournament meanwhile were engaging in frantic last-ditch lobbying before making their own presentations on Thursday. Russia has emerged as the bookmakers’ favourite, pulling clear of England and a joint bid from Spain and Portugal. A Dutch-Belgian bid is regarded as a long-odds outsider.

However, England are pulling out all the stops with Prime Minister David Cameron, heir to the throne Prince William and football icon David Beckham networking relentlessly with Fifa delegates.

Cameron met Fifa President Sepp Blatter on Tuesday before holding talks late into the night with five other members of the 22-strong executive committee which will vote in Thursday’s ballot. Fifa’s executive committee will cast votes in a series of ballots starting at 1 pm GMT until one bid has received an absolute majority.

Blatter has admitted that the decision to stage the votes for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments at the same time was a mistake, raising the probability of collusion between bidders.

The United States delegation in Zurich is being led by former President Bill Clinton with Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman also part of the team.

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