As governing bodies and the Government consider bids to host one or both of a European Football Championships and a Rugby World Cup, there has been a salutary lesson in the complexity of such bids with news that FIFA is to launch a major investigation of the awarding of the 2006, 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.
Allegations of corruption and bribery involving the company that sold the international television rights and senior figures within the organisation are to be scrutinised by FIFA’s Ethics Committee under its newly appointed joint chief investigator, Michael Garcia.
“If you look at things, it is clear there is something to investigate and that is what we are going to do,” Garcia told a German television station.
The 2006 tournament was held in Germany while 2018 was awarded to Russia, the first time the event will be held in Eastern Europe.  The 2022 event was controversially awarded to Qatar, despite concerns over extreme temperatures and the possibility of moving to a northern hemisphere winter scheduling.
The greater level of scrutiny that now applies to major awards such as Ireland are likely to be involved in does mean that the best bid will have the best chance of success but the sums and the alleged chicanery involved does also paint a daunting picture of what is required outside of the bricks and mortar elements of stadia and infrastructure.
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