Sepp Blatter’s surprising resignation as FIFA president on Tuesday will likely lead to a complete reconstruction of the organization, possibly starting with new hosts of the next two World Cups.
Blatter resigned just days after getting reelected for a fifth term last Friday following the corruption scandal the U.S. Department of Justice unfolded last Wednesday.
While Blatter’s successor has yet to be determined, the organization will look to rebrand itself quickly, and Greg Dyke, chairman of the English Football Association (FA), was quick to point out that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups may be relocated.
“We can go back to looking at those two World Cups,” Dyke said according to British newspaper The Independent. “If I were Qatar right now I wouldn’t be feeling very comfortable.”
FIFA initially assured the 2018 and 2022 World Cups would not change hosts, but as Dyke points out, “something has come out of the events of last week that has caused Mr Blatter to resign.”
The United States was originally one of the front-runners to be awarded the 2022 games before Qatar was named host after allegedly bribing FIFA officials.
But justice might be served as the U.S. will likely be one of the favorites if FIFA decides to relocate the world’s largest sporting event as the country has an excess of existing stadiums that meet FIFA’s criteria.
Richard Sheehan, a sports economics professor at the University of Notre Dame, estimates the total cost of upgrading infrastructure in the host cities to land at around $1 billion, compared to Qatar’s estimated $200 billion spending.
Each of the 12 host cities would additionally walk away with several hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from tourism.
“The U.S. has the facilities, and the cost of the U.S. hosting the World Cup would be relatively small,” Sheehan told the International Business Times. “Everyone should walk away making money on this.”