Consider the timeline and it starts to become apparent who is really behind all this.
August 2010 and Bin Hammam announces that he won't challenge Blatter for head of FIFA.
Everything is quiet and there are no leaks from FIFA damaging to Qatar or any other country.
Qatar then goes on to win the 2022 World Cup, and shortly after Bin Hammam stabs Blatter in the back and announces that he will challenge after all.
And now, curiously just weeks before the FIFA election, a series of damaging leaks and allegations against Russia and Qatar make their way in to the media.
Going by the most recent maths, Blatter is looking confident in retaining his position at the top of FIFA, since a lot of voters previously committed to Bin Hammam have now decided that voting for a Qatari to head FIFA after allegations against Qatar, would be a bad look.
Keep in mind too that in just the last day or two, it has been revealed that Qatar did pay, controversially, the Confederation of African Football to present their bid. Never before has any bidding country offered or been made to pay money to present their bid:
"In an attempt to drum up support for their bid, the Qatar bid committee offered CAF $1.8 million, sponsoring fee for (the) CAF General Assembly. In return, Qatar 2022 Bid Committee was given the exclusive rights to address the general assembly and make presentations to members."
CAF said the sponsorship had been approved by its executive committee and an agreement signed with the Qatari bid committee.
Consider the timeline and it starts to become apparent who is really behind all this.
August 2010 and Bin Hammam announces that he won't challenge Blatter for head of FIFA.
Everything is quiet and there are no leaks from FIFA damaging to Qatar or any other country.
Qatar then goes on to win the 2022 World Cup, and shortly after Bin Hammam stabs Blatter in the back and announces that he will challenge after all.
And now, curiously just weeks before the FIFA election, a series of damaging leaks and allegations against Russia and Qatar make their way in to the media.
Going by the most recent maths, Blatter is looking confident in retaining his position at the top of FIFA, since a lot of voters previously committed to Bin Hammam have now decided that voting for a Qatari to head FIFA after allegations against Qatar, would be a bad look.
Keep in mind too that in just the last day or two, it has been revealed that Qatar did pay, controversially, the Confederation of African Football to present their bid. Never before has any bidding country offered or been made to pay money to present their bid:
http://www.modernghana.com/sports/328549/2/caf-president-denies-corrupti...
"In an attempt to drum up support for their bid, the Qatar bid committee offered CAF $1.8 million, sponsoring fee for (the) CAF General Assembly. In return, Qatar 2022 Bid Committee was given the exclusive rights to address the general assembly and make presentations to members."
CAF said the sponsorship had been approved by its executive committee and an agreement signed with the Qatari bid committee.