BBC Panorama targets FIFA

FIFA is likely to be put on the spot sometime in the upcoming weeks by the BBC programme Panorama.

Programme officials requests for comment to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, general secretary Jerome Valcke and committee members Chuck Blazer and Jack Warner. The letters from Panorama ask if England will be given a fair shot to host the 2018 World Cup finals.

They also say they are investigating the actions of FIFA officials, spotlighting the MasterCard-Visa row that resulted in a GBP 45 million settlement to MasterCard from FIFA after the governing body made a series of missteps during the negotiation process.

The programme is due to be screened on October 29, right in the middle of the FIFA executive committee meeting in Zurich that is expected to agree to the end of rotation of the World Cup between continents. Blatter however said he will not hold an England bid accountable for what the programme airs.

A senior FIFA source told PA Sport: "FIFA will not hold this against an England bid for the World Cup. We are aware enough to realise that Panorama have nothing to do with an England bid."

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.