Who should host the FIFA World Cup instead of Qatar and Russia?

The most prized trophy in world sport.

Even though it is unlikely for the destinations of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups to change, it is still quite possible a revote could take place if FIFA is proved to have accepted bribery.

So if the 2018 tournaments in Qatar as well as the 2022 in Russia were to lose their hosting rights, then which countries should replace them?

My initial thoughts are that it should be England for 2018, and then a battle between the United States and Australia for 2022 with the Americans getting the edge.

After all, it was the US who essentially saved football following the commencement of investigations into the FIFA scandal in the last month.

But if former FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s supporters vote against the Yanks, then the world’s biggest sporting event may end up Down Under.

For 2018, England simply just have to get it.

In fact, I would not even consider a revote – I’d just give it to them.

Despite not having too many friends in the powers of world football, they created our beautiful game and have already got the experience of hosting a World Cup, being in 1966. 

With the revamp of countless stadiums in Britain that we see today displayed by the English Premier League, it really is a no-brainer – just give it to the Poms.

England aside, I would not even mind if the US got it considering they had the balls to go after FIFA in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong, it would be absolutely amazing for Australia to host one of the two next World Cups – or even just one while I’m still alive.

But Australia and Football Federation Australia are just seen as a useless little sheep by the rest.

For that reason, I’d let the Americans have it for the good they have done – it could even be seen as the 2022 FBI World Cup.

We have some of the world's best football stadiums in the southern hemisphere, let alone the world, that we demonstrate year in year out with our football codes in all four seasons, and notably our cricket in the summer.

Alas having said that, USA is one of the few countries that could take down FIFA.

Australia realistically could not.

We might be useless sheep but that’s what we ever are and can be.

But with all considered, it is still very doubtful that the removal of Qatar and Russia for their respective World Cup year’s will occur.

Stripping a country of something that’s already had huge amounts of money spent on would have extreme ramifications.

But perhaps not if the bids are proven to have mixed with criminal activity and bribery.

Out of the two 2018 and 2022 host nations, Russia would undeniably be more furious if it lost its rights.

Is Russia really a country we want to anger in this day and age?

The FIFA World Cup goes beyond football.

For the sake of the game and the rest of the world, I wouldn’t take it off Russia or we might even have WWIII on our hands.

But it’s not like England cannot host it in the blink of an eye.

All the correct infrastructure is in place and ready to go, but the hopes of the English public may have just taken a hit.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he supported Qatar hosting the 2022 tournament but said Britain would work with another country if FIFA re-opened the bidding process. 

"We would offer our support to any country that has been chosen to host the World Cup," Hammond recently told BBC World Service radio, saying the final decision would be for FIFA to make. 

Hammond ruled out any British bid to host the 2022 competition if Qatar was stripped of hosting rights.

All bribery aside, Russia can be debated as a viable place for a major sporting event – one just has to look at how well they coped with the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Whereas Qatar barely has a leg to stand on in this criteria, which is why the Middle-Eastern folk take a liking for whinging at Russia at any given opportunity.

The only issue with Russia taking control of a massive sporting event as the World Cup can be compared to Greece and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

The Greeks spent all this money on infrastructure that is now rotting to waste.

This is a key element that is supposedly part of the FIFA World Cup bidding process – that structures built for the purpose of the event will be sustainable and useful to the community at the conclusion of the event.

It is difficult to put a timeline on when the investigations for the recent outbreaks in FIFA will be settled.

But if it came down to it, a revote would be the most plausible option for selecting the new hosting rights for the next two World Cups.