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Boris Johnson on 2018 World Cup: "London stands ready"

As the Fifa crisis deepens, the Mayor of London has said London is poised to host the 2018 World Cup should there be a re-contest.

In 2010 Russia was awarded the biggest date in 2018’s sporting calendar, while Qatar was named as the host city for the event in 2022.

In his latest column in The Telegraph, Boris Johnson recalls his experience promoting the England 2018 bid as he declares “London stands ready” should the decision be revoked.

Johnson is not the first Brit to stand up to Fifa’s corruption, with Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham calling for a boycott of the 2018 World Cup late last week.

In his column, the Mayor writes: “I hope that the law now takes its course: that Sepp Blatter is finally forced to take responsibility for what appears to have happened on his watch, and to resign. If they had any sense of honour the sponsors would now pull the plug on this plainly fraudulent organisation.

“In an ideal world the guilty would be convicted and Fifa would be wound up and replaced – as I have long since argued – by a more transparent and accountable body. I have to say, alas, that I am not entirely certain that things will turn out this way. As both the US and Swiss investigators acknowledge, bribery is difficult to prove.

“And then there is a further geopolitical problem. You and I may rejoice at the notion of Britain and America triumphing in the final reel of the movie – James Bond and Felix Leiter coming together to winkle Blofeld from his lair. Not everyone sees it that way; not everyone likes the idea of an Anglo-American imperium. You may have noted that the French and Spanish Fifa wallahs decided, amazingly, to vote for Blatter.”

On Friday, long-term Fifa boss Sepp Blatter was re-elected following a withdrawal of his only opponent Prince Ali bin Hussein.

Fifa is currently being investigated for alleged bribery that took place during the lead up to the decision of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

At the end of his column, Johnson said: “All we can do is watch events, send whatever evidence we have to the Americans, and live in hope. And if the Swiss police indeed show that the 2010 contest was corrupted, then it will have to be re-run. London stands ready.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .