June 16, 2015 FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke has announced that ongoing investigations by law enforcement are the main reason why the start of bidding for the 2026 World Cup has been put on hold. He said this during a news conference in Samara, Russia.
The decision on who hosts the 2026 finals was to have been made in Kuala Lumpur in 2017, but according to Valcke, “Due to the situation, I think it’s nonsense to start any bidding process for the time being. And we will postpone this bidding process for again the time being,”
He added “Whatever is said and discussed about FIFA – the World Cup has to be protected, the World Cup is all the basic system of FIFA in order to develop football around the world,”
Media reports have it that the FBI is preparing to investigate Valcke and Sepp Blatter as part of its probe into a $150 million corruption scandal involving FIFA officials. Valcke had pleaded innocent from the get go.
The FBI are also investigating how soccer’s governing body awarded World Cup hosting rights to Russia, which won the bidding for 2018, and Qatar, which is due to host the finals in 2022. Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko is unfazed however, saying there is no threat to Moscow‘s successful bid, which had been in line with the rules.