England will not be hosting the World Cup in 2018. While many thought England would be winning the rights to host football's biggest tournament, they were knocked out in the first round of voting, receiving only two votes, one being from Geoff Thompson, the English representative on the FIFA voting panel. Russia won the rights to host the tournament instead. However, Michael Garcia, the ethics investigator, has been taking a look at England's bid closely due to signs of corruption.
England paid a whopping $35,000 to woo former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner. The money did not of course go directly to the official, who has since resigned. Warner quit because of his fraudulent practices in Mohamed bin Hammam's botched campaign for the FIFA Presidency. The money was used to pay the bill of 160 people from the Caribbean Football Union for a Gala dinner in Port of Spain. Michael Garcia questioned officials of the England 2018 bid last year about the dinner.
Jack Warner of course had no second thoughts about the positive influence of the dinner according to the Daily Mail:
"It is costing the FA about £35,000, but I think it is money well spent as it allows them to speak to all 32 countries from the CFU.
It also means I will be able to get the collective view of my membership about who they think should host the World Cup when the time comes for me to decide. And in light of the harsh economic conditions we are battling in the region, the FA has agreed to formally partner with us."
