What was Fifa thinking?
Inside Story asks what motivated the footballing body to choose Russia and Qatar to host the World Cup finals.
Russia and Qatar have been chosen to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals respectively after a secret ballot of Fifa’s 22 executive members in Zurich.
Russia was selected ahead of co-bidders Spain-Portugal and Holland-Belgium and England, which won only two votes.
Qatar defeated bids from South Korea, Japan, Australia and the US.
We ask what motivated Fifa’s decision, what it means for the selected countries and what challenges are ahead.
Joining Inside Story to discuss this are: David Owen, a chief columnist with the Inside World Football website; Stefan Szymanski, a professor of economics and director of sports at Cass Business School; and Hafez Almedlej, a member of the executive committee of the Asian Football Confederation.
This episode of Inside Story aired on Friday, December 3, 2010.