FIFA investigator Michael Garcia will submit his report into alleged corruption regarding the bidding process and controversial awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar two weeks after the upcoming spectacle in Brazil.
Garcia's team "intends" to complete the two-year investigation, for which he spent millions of dollars travelling the world to interview those involved in the race to host the 2018 and 2022 tournaments and investigate allegations of bribery and corruption, by June 9.
"After months of interviewing witnesses and gathering materials, we intend to complete that phase of our investigation by June 9, 2014, and to submit a report to the Adjudicatory Chamber approximately six weeks thereafter. The report will consider all evidence potentially related to the bidding process, including evidence collected from prior investigations," a statement from Garcia's New York office said.
The statement was also signed by Cornel Borbely, deputy chairman of the investigatory chamber.
Garcia was in Oman yesterday to meet members of the Qatar bid committee in one of the last steps of his inquiry which also involved interviewing all continuing members from the FIFA executive committee in 2010.
Garcia's report will be sent to Hans-Joachim Eckert, the German judge who heads FIFA's independent adjudicatory chamber.
Eckert will study the report, review whatever recommendations it contains and then issue his own verdict.
Qatar has faced calls to be stripped of the 2022 World Cup in the wake of fresh allegations that former Asian Football Confederation president Mohammad Bin Hammam used USD 5 million to not only buy goodwill for his tilt at the FIFA presidency but to aid the 2022 bid.
The controversial World Cup host votes took place on December 2, 2010. The FIFA executive committee awarded Russia the 2018 finals and Qatar the 2022 tournament.
