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Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter has revealed that the decision to award the hosting rights of the 2018 Football World Cup to Russia was partly agreed upon even before the bidding process had begun. The 79-year-old told Russian news agency Tass about an informal discussion on the possible future hosts of the premier footballing event as early as 2010.
He has also revealed that there was a similar agreement to award the 2022 FIFA World Cup to the United States of America which never materialised due to a late swing in votes towards eventual bidding winners Qatar.
The awarding of the 2018 and the 2022 World Cup hosting rights to Russia and Qatar has been under a cloud of suspicion for a while now with reports of wrongdoings and bribery charges and are being investigated.
On asked whether it was a mistake to award the 2018 and 2022 tournaments simultaneously, Blatter replied: "It was agreed that we go to Russia because it's never been in Russia, eastern Europe, and for 2022 we go back to America.
"And so we will have the World Cup in the two biggest political powers."
UEFA has an anti-FIFA virus: Blatter
Sepp Blatter also opened on a number of recent developments in football such as the election of a new FIFA president and the possibility of Russia losing the right to host the footballing mega event in 2018.
He said,”Russia will never lose the 2018 World Cup.
“Most national football associations don't like UEFA-backed FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino,” added Sepp Blatter.
The Swiss also believes that he has been vilified unfairly and has denied any wrongdoings from his side. He has described his suspension as ‘total nonsense’ and also feels that the FIFA Ethics Committee have failed him.
He has admitted that he should have stood down from his post of the president after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but stayed only due to prevailing concerns that UEFA, European football's governing body would become too dominant within FIFA.
"The other confederations were afraid that UEFA would take over everything because they have the money and the players," said Blatter.
"Uefa has an anti-Fifa virus," claimed the Swiss with a rather cynical observation regarding the European football governing body
