Infantino says 2026 World Cup bids must be ‘bullet-proof’

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino listens to a question during a press conference in Cardiff, Wales, Friday, March 4, 2016. The first week of Gianni Infantino's FIFA presidency is set to end with soccer further embracing technology once blocked by Sepp Blatter. Four years after the International Football Association Board approved technology to rule on disputed goals, the rule-making body is due to experiment with in-game video replay systems on Saturday at its annual meeting. (AP Photo/Rob Harris) FIFA President, Gianni Infantino listens to a question during a press conference in Cardiff, Wales, Friday, March 4, 2016. The first week of Gianni Infantino's FIFA presidency is set to end with soccer further embracing technology once blocked by Sepp Blatter. Four years after the International Football Association Board approved technology to rule on disputed goals, the rule-making body is due to experiment with in-game video replay systems on Saturday at its annual meeting. (AP Photo/Rob Harris)

By Associated Press March 4, 2016 2 min read

CARDIFF, Wales (AP) – FIFA’s credibility is at stake over the 2026 World Cup and bids must be “bullet-proof,” new President Gianni Infantino said Friday after a German investigation could not rule out that vote-buying secured the 2006 tournament for Germany.

Despite lawyers finding no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing, the 361-page report left open the possibility of corruption by Germany’s bid team and detailed irregular payments linking 2006 World Cup officials to FIFA.

Every World Cup since 1998 has now seen bids for world soccer’s showpiece event tainted by allegations of wrongdoing. Infantino is trying to clean up FIFA after years of scandals, while pledging to start the 2026 World Cup bidding contest in his first three months in power.

“We need to make sure that the bidding process that we do, that we put in place, is absolutely bullet-proof in this respect,” Infantino said Friday.

“I will do everything I can to make sure that this happens because I think that the credibility of FIFA is, as well, at stake here and we have to get the 2026 process absolutely right.”