ZURICH: FIFA, even though it still not resolved issues around the bid scandal for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, is already planning the rules for the 2026 finals writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Michael Garcia, the American attorney who quit in frustration last autumn over the world federation’s failure to expedite his report into the 2018-2022 process, spent nearly two years interviewing most of the officials involved.

However whatever disciplinary action he recommended has yet to be clarified by ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert and his report has been locked away despite repeated calls for a redacted version to be published in the interests of transparency and good governance.

Despite the failure to wrap up that issue the agenda for FIFA’s executive committee meeting on the eve of next week’s Congress will be considering “approval of bidding regulations” for 2026.

FIFA statutes state that confederations which have hosted the previous two World Cups cannot enter. This rules out Europe (Russia 2018) and Asia (Qatar 2022) which leaves the field open for competition between Africa, South America and central/north America.

Early indications suggest that the contest will come down to Mexico v United States.

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