FIFA member: Media ruined England bid

The Japanese FIFA executive
committee member has said
England's World Cup bid failed
so utterly because of the
country's media investigations
into the world governing body.
Junji Ogura, who was thought to
favour England's bid to host the
2018 tournament, was
impressed by a presentation in
Zurich that included David
Beckham, Prince William and
prime minister David Cameron.
He said that investigations by
the Sunday Times and the BBC's
Panorama programme had
irretrievably harmed the
country's chances however.
"I thought England was a very
strong candidate," Ogura told
the BBC. "Their presentation
was one of the best
presentations.
"But I think there was a big
influence from the BBC and the
Sunday Times. These reports
possibly influenced people. It
made damage for some
people."
Russia was chosen to host with
England crashing out of the
contest in the first round with
only two votes, including that of
former FA chairman Geoff
Thompson.
Reports have circulated that
FIFA president Sepp Blatter gave
a private address to the
members of the executive
committee before voting took
place, reminding them of the
investigations.
"We have had difficulties with
them," he said, according to the
Daily Mail's Charles Sale.
Surprisingly it is also reported
that the second member to vote
in favour of England was African
football president Issa Hayatou,
the subject of one of the probes
into irregularities.
Asked whether he had voted for
England, Ogura replied: "I
cannot say anything. It's totally
complicated. Nobody will say
which country they voted for."
Spain-Portugal and
Netherlands-Belgium were the
other two bids to miss out, while
Middle Eastern state Qatar won
the right to host in 2022.
Source: Eurosport

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