In yet another story to show that FIFA and corruption go hand-in-hand, The Sunday Times has uncovered documents that reveal that former Qatari FIFA vice president Mohamed bin Hammam bribed international soccer officials to back Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup. 

Scandalous, yet predictable.

Hammam’s no stranger to bribery, as he was banned from world soccer in 2011 after trying to snake his way into the FIFA presidency through an exchange of money. He appears to have done it once again, and somehow managed to get Qatar, with more human-rights violations than an Indonesian sweatshop, as front-runners to host the tournament.

Buying support across Africa was central to Bin Hammam’s strategy because the members of CAF exerted collective influence over how its block of four Exco members should vote. Several of the officials he paid held seats on CAF’s ruling executive committee and another nine currently sit on standing committees of the Fifa executive.

Hammam was said to have provided lavish junkets and cash payments to the influencers in the decision for the bid, but FIFA president Sepp Blatter has come out and said the selection of Qatar was “a mistake”.

Australia, who were up against Qatar and eventually snubbed for the bid, are putting up some serious opposition and are assisting in the investigation of FIFA with FIFA’s ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia.

[source: Deadspin]