? Paul Hayward: Do England want to pay price to host 2018?
? Six weeks of allegations: From Sunday Times to Panorama
? Full coverage: World Cup 2018
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All the vodka is sold?
3.20pm:
A week ago the leader of the Spain-Portugal 2018 bid said it was too late for England's World Cup campaign, adding: 'All the fish is sold'
Now the Russians have been speaking
Russian chief Mutko says it is "not just" that rivals who have "not promoted" bid have become favorites. "Very concerned" about collusion...Mutko says he believes the executive-committee have already made their minds up. All the vodka is sold?
Cameron, Beckham and Wales
3.18pm:
Owen Gibson's report of David Cameron's arrival in Switzerland, including this comment from the British PM: "I think we have got a very strong team here - Prince William, David Beckham and myself and we are going to be making the arguments for England 2018,"
Putin: will he won't he?
2.37pm:
Moscow-based correspondent Tom Parfitt reports that the official line on Putin is that he will confirm tomorrow whether he is planning to go to Zurich.
The stars come out
2.28pm:
@Biancabbdoll tweets: "World cup week in Zurich = nations shamelessly pimp out their stars in bidding frenzy for #Fifa #worldcup. http://bit.ly/ede0vi #football"
The link is to a Brisbane Courier Mail story headlined: Australia's World Cup bid gets a boost from supermodel Elle Macpherson: Who needs bribes when you have "The Body"?
The Courier-Mail reports:
"She's a fantastic, iconic Australian who's been very successful on the world stage," FFA boss Ben Buckley said. "Football is the world game, so there's no better way to express Australia's personality than through a person like her."
Odd choice? Not if history is any guide.
FIFA watchers still talk about the "Claudia effect" in 2000, when supermodel Claudia Schiffer sashayed into Zurich in support of Germany's bid for the 2006 cup...
...Who knows if the feminine charm did the trick in the corridors of power but it's a theme Australia's bid team haven't shied away from.
Rumours of Kylie Minogue also jetting in linger, and Nicole Kidman last year delivered Australia's initial video pitch at the 2010 World Cup draw.
The best and worst previous World Cup hosts
2.27pm:
Goal.com has produced a best five and worst five World Cup hosts. Italy 1934 appears to have made the top five on an argument along the lines of "say what you like about the Fascists, but they made the trains run on time...and they won the Cup".
British PM avoids Panorama questions
2.13pm:
Prime Minister David Cameron deflected questions about the effect of the BBC's Panorama programme on England's 2018 World Cup bid ahead of a meeting with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, reports the Press Association.
Cameron flew into Zurich today and headed straight to FIFA headquarters to speak to Blatter, before starting a series of meetings with other FIFA executive committee members including Jack Warner ahead of Thursday's World Cup vote.
Asked about the Panorama effect, Cameron said:
I've only got one focus here and that's trying to bring the World Cup home for England. That's going to be my focus, talking to the decision-makers and pressing them on the brilliance of English football and what we can bring for this bid. That's going to be my concern, nothing else.
I think we have got a very strong team here - Prince William, David Beckham and myself and we are going to be making the arguments for England 2018.
We think we have got an incredibly strong case, the best technical bid, and I think we can make the biggest commercial success of the World Cup.
England losing support, claims Russia
1.29pm:
Vyacheslav Koloskov, the former president of the Russian FA, has claimed that support for England has "vanished" amongst FIFA's executive committee, reports ITV.com from Russian press reports.
Koloskov said:
"That has nothing to do with the bidding team however. But when one member of a family is attacked - and the 24 members of the Executive Committee are like a family - it casts a shadow on all of them.
There will be three rounds of voting. Russia and Spain/Portugal will go into the final round. I believe that England are not favourites in this process."
Some radical views
1.07pm:
Over on our Ireland Business Blog, Lisa O'Carroll asks: "Why not let Ireland join England's World Cup bid?"
There's still time. Only two days to the vote. And we meet many of the special criteria required.
Special tax exemptions required for foreigners ? check.
An inner golden circle willing to take "special" benefits ? check.
Surplus hotel capacity - check. Ireland has 60,000 hotel rooms ? 7,000 of them surplus to requirements.
And finally, world-class stadium ? check. The magnificent brand new Aviva stadium soaked up almost ?200m (�167m) of taxpayers' money and is still half empty since opening this year. We also have Thomond and Croke Park and we're less than an hour from the likes of Liverpool, Manchester and Cardiff, not to mention Wembley.
And, in a blog I came across in a random trawl through Twitter's World Cup feed, "woman priest/metalhead" Rachel Mann on "the Immorality of Football" concludes:
Take football back to its Medieval roots, when villages would kick the holy crap out of each other. Abandon all pretence to rules and control and let everyone tear everyone else's anuses out whilst pretending to kick a sheep's bladder towards a goal. Last man standing gets the World Cup.
Who will win right to host 2018 - Mihir Bose's view
12.44pm:
Mihir Bose looks at how the voting might go on Thursday:
England's World Cup bid team are trying to secure at least six first-round votes of Fifa executives for the 2018 tournament. Should England not manage that on Thursday, they would still survive the first round. But their chances of beating their main rivals, Russia, or the joint bid of Spain-Portugal, will be terminally weakened.
To make sure of the crucial sixth vote, England's attention has focused on the Japanese member, Junji Ogura. That is why Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for sport, accompanied Paul Elliott, the bid director, on the long trip to Kuala Lumpur to attend the 2010 Asian football awards. Normally this would not be on the agenda of a British cabinet minister but the presence of Hunt, a fluent Japanese speaker, was considered essential.
Betting: Who will win the right to host 2018?
12.27pm:
Sean Ingle on the latest odds on who will win the right to host 2018:
Until a couple of weeks ago, England were warm favourites to win the World Cup 2018 vote at around 8-11 (58% chance of winning). Now, however, Russia have taken over as market leaders at 4-5 (55% chance of winning), with England out to 3-1 (25% chance), Spain 7-2 (22% chance) and Belgium 33-1 (3% chance). The reports that Vladmir Putin may not attend the World Cup vote on Thursday could push Russia's price out, mind. Latest odds here.
The accused Fifa officials
12.21pm:
David Conn reports: who are the key figures in Panorama's claims, what are they alleged to have done, are these new allegations and what is the likely impact.
Will Putin go to Zurich?
12.14pm:
Sky News reports that Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin is not going to Zurich. But this is unconfirmed. The feeling is that if Putin doesn't go, it means Russia does not believe it will win the bid. This would probably make Spain/Portugal favourite to host the 2018 World Cup. Owen Gibson, however, says that Putin has not yet made his mind up and is just three hours flight away.
Why Fifa says it dismisses Panorama allegations
12.08pm:
Fifa's statement on Panorama:
The matters concerning the case "ISL/ISMM" which are referred to date back many years ago and were investigated by the relevant authorities in Switzerland.
In its verdict of 26 June 2008, the Criminal Court of Zug had not convicted any FIFA Officials. It is therefore important to stress again the fact that no FIFA officials were accused of any criminal offence in these proceedings.
Furthermore, it is important to recall that the decision was made on matters which took place prior to the year 2000 and there has been no court conviction against FIFA. The investigation and the case are definitely closed.
PM to meet President
12.02pm:
David Cameron's first meeting on arrival in Zurich will be with Fifa president Sepp Blatter, tweets the BBC's David Bond.
Prince William and David Beckham are also due to be in Zurich for the bid.
Do England want to pay this price to host the World Cup?
11.56am:
Paul Hayward argues that "the English bid is starting to feel like complicity in the supreme authority's slavering pursuit of the game's astronomical wealth."
The long reach of the Panorama material ? 10 years and more ? increases rather than diminishes its seriousness. It says long-term survival is possible at Fifa even after malpractice has been exposed. Casual observers will see the same old faces presenting themselves for another chance to play God.
Lunch
11.44am:
Owen Gibson tweets on a very important matter in Zurich:
"Fifa may not be able to give us a straight answer on myriad corruption allegations...but their lunch looks excellent. Veal ragout anyone?"
IOC to investigate Hayatou
11.31am:
In a counterpoint to Fifa's reaction to the BBC's investigations, the International Olympic Committee says it will investigate Fifa vice president Issa Hayatou over allegations he took bribes from Fifa's former marketing agency. The IOC, which says it has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption, says it will ask the BBC to pass on evidence from the Panorama investigation.
Hayatou, a longstanding IOC member and president of Africa's football confederation, allegedly received 100,000 French francs from the ISL agency in 1995.
Warner 'not interested' in Panorama
11.16am:
Panorama accused Fifa vice-president Jack Warner of seeking to buy World Cup tickets to pass on to touts ? although the programme accepted he did not actually do so.
I really have no interest in this matter... now or ever.
BBC defends Panorama
11.05am:
An England 2018 statement said:
We stand by our previous position that the BBC's Panorama did nothing more than rake over a series of historical allegations none of which are relevant to the current bidding process. It should be seen as an embarrassment to the BBC.
But, Clive Edwards, the executive editor of BBC current affairs, told the Today programme:
Panorama's job is to investigate corruption and wrongdoing in public life so we put the information out there as soon as we could.
Some people have said that it would have been better to do it after the vote but it is surely nonsense to suggest that you know a process could be flawed and you don't say anything until after it has happened.
" am not prepared to sit on information we have. I believe that it is in everyone's interest that there should be a fair process and that corruption should be exposed.
Michel Platini says England bid unharmed by allegations
11.01am:
Uefa president Michel Platini this morning told reporters that the BBC Panorama programme screened last night should not affect England's 2018 World Cup bid.
Three Fifa World Cup voters accused of taking bribes
10.58am:
Three of the Fifa executive committee members who will decide the fate of the 2018 World Cup were last night accused of taking bribes in a corruption scandal involving around $100m (�64.2m) of secret payments. The BBC's Panorama documentary, the timing of which had been branded "unpatriotic" by bid executives before broadcast and "frustrating" by the prime minister, David Cameron, also contained fresh allegations against the Concacaf president, Jack Warner, concerning a ticketing scandal linked to the 2010 World Cup, reports Owen Gibson.
Panorama investigation
10.57am:
The full Panorama investigation can be found here.
IOC and Fifa react to Panorama allegations
10.39am:
Instructive contrast between IOC and Fifa statements on Panorama allegations..., says Owen Gibson. He adds:
IOC asks BBC to pass on evidence on Hayatou (also an IOC member): "zero tolerance" on corruption and will refer matter to ethics commission
Fifa says Panorama allegations date back many years and were fully investigated. "The investigation and the case are definitely closed."
Putin
10.34am:
The first Guardian man on the ground in Switzerland is Owen Gibson. He tweets: Putin to reveal tomorrow whether he'll travel to Zurich. Expect he'll only be here if he can be assured of victory.
After Panorama, before the bid decision
10.35am:
The decision on where to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup venues will take place in Switzerland this week. The bidding teams and officials are gathering in Zurich.
The BBC kicked off the week with its investigation into the Fifa process including allegations of bribery. Panorama alleged:
Three senior Fifa officials who will vote on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids took bribes in the 1990s...Nicolas Leoz, Issa Hayatou and Ricardo Teixeira took the money from a sport marketing firm awarded lucrative World Cup rights, the programme alleges. The alleged bribes are included in a confidential document listing 175 payments totalling about $100m (�64m).
Through the day we will follow events in Switzerland, plus reaction to the BBC's allegations.
Here is a handy guide to recent events, from the Sunday Times investigation into corruption by Fifa officials to the Panorama allegations.
Please share your thoughts below or email steve.busfield@guardian.co.uk or on Twitter.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/nov/30/2018-world-cup-fifa-vote
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