One of the contenders for the FIFA presidency said Tuesday the United States should host the 2022 World Cup if Qatar is stripped of the tournament.
FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne told French radio station RTL on Tuesday that FIFA should give hosting rights to the second-place bidder if corruption is proved in Qatar’s win.
“It should not be a revote but apply the IOC’s legal precedent, giving the gold medal to the silver medalist,” Champagne said.
Qatar won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup in December 2010, beating the US 14-8 in the final round of FIFA executive committee voting. Allegations of corruption have dogged the Qatar bid for years, though Champagne, the former FIFA international relations director, made clear on Tuesday that he isn’t jumping to that conclusion.
“The presumption of innocence must also go to the Qataris,” he said.
Champagne is one of five candidates for the Feb. 26 FIFA presidential election. He’s the only candidate scheduled to appear in Brussels on Wednesday to meet with European lawmakers for an event that was originally scheduled as a debate between all five.
