The Federation of International Football Association is to begin investigation of the 12 remaining executive committee (ExCo) members who were involved in the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.
The world football’s governing body’s chief investigator, Michael Garcia, is examining claims of wrongdoing in the process.
Fifa’s ExCo is in Zurich for a two-day meeting.
Some of those involved in the vote, which took place in December 2010, have retired, while others have either been banned or forced to resign after being found guilty of breaching Fifa’s new ethics code.
The development tends to have nothing related to the Daily Telegraph’s investigation into former Fifa executives Mohammed Bin Hamman and Jack Warner, who were part of the forces behind the decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
A recent report released by the newspaper this week claimed that the FBI is looking into payments made by a company owned by former Qatari official Bin Hamman to ex-Fifa vice-president Jack Warner and his family thought to worth more than £1m.
Qatar’s World Cup organising committee has however defended its bid to host the 2022 tournament, stressing it adhered to Fifa rules and it was “unaware of any allegations surrounding business dealings between private individuals.”
Bin Hamman was given a life ban from football activities in 2011 while Warner resigned in the same year.
The duo are no longer subject to Fifa’s ethics code and cannot be disciplined by Garcia.
Garcia, who has been meeting officials from the 2018 and 2022 bidding nations, is expected to step up his investigation by debriefing members of Fifa’s executive committee in Switzerland- including president Sepp Blatter and Uefa president Michel Platini.
The due date for the American lawyer’s report, expected to address corruption claims as well as collusion in the bidding process, has not yet been ascertained.
