Football will not be coming home in eight years time, after it emerged England had crashed out in the first round of voting, securing just two votes, and the tournament was instead awarded to Russia.
Some members of a grim faced England bid team, including Boris Johnson and Gary Lineker, retreated to the back of the hall as it emerged that England had been knocked out in the first round. England’s representative on ExCo, Geoff Thompson, counted for one vote, while Japan will have provided the other.
A late final lobbying push led by the prime minister David Cameron, David Beckham and Prince William and a well received final presentation was not enough to avoid a humiliating exit and spark huge recriminations.
The final stages of the race have been marked by allegations of corruption and collusion that led to a backlash against the British media among some Fifa executives.
The England team went into today’s vote believing they had secured enough votes to make it through the first round and could see “a path to victory”.
Instead, Russia – the long time favourites backed by Sepp Blatter – won the race with their pitch to open up new markets.
“We can promise you a World Cup you will never forget. Let us make history together,” said Vitaly Mutko, the Russian sports minister.
Meanwhile, Qatar will become the first Middle Eastern hosts of the World Cup after Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, announced the 22 executive committee members had voted to award the 2022 tournament to a country of only 1.7m people, beating off the rival bids from the United States, who had been considered the favourites by many, Australia, South Korea and Japan.
Qatar’s bid had centred on an appeal to Fifa to take “a bold gamble” by taking the World Cup to a region where football is popular and is beginning to emerge as world player in global sport. The victory will be viewed as a triumph for Mohammed Bin Hammam, the Fifa executive member, and president of the Asia Football Confederation, who is the favourite to succeed Blatter.