A FIFA spokesman, however, did point to its pre-existing rules of conduct, which warn governments of bidding nations not to participate in activities that “may adversely affect the integrity of the bidding process and create an undue influence on the bidding process.”The host of the 2026 World Cup will be named June 13, a day before the opening match of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Geopolitics always come into play when selecting hosts for the largest international sporting events, the World Cup and the Olympics. From his remarks about the World Cup, it is not clear that Mr. Trump understands the process of how a host country is chosen. Governments don’t vote, but rather top officials in the world’s 207 national soccer federations. FIFA explicitly warns governments not to interfere in soccer-related matters, and it has suspended countries from international soccer for violations of those rules.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 30, 2018 22:37 UTC