SOCCER
SOCHI, Russia (AP) After years of intrigue about allegedly corrupt World Cup bidding, FIFA published an investigation report that showed how voters exploited the murky system yet allowed Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
FIFA published investigator Michael Garcia’s 430-page dossier less than 24 hours after Germany’s biggest-selling daily Bild began reporting extracts from a leaked copy it received.
The full report verified the broad conclusions of a summary of Garcia’s work published by FIFA in November 2014.
A Russia bid backed by Vladimir Putin gave limited cooperation to Garcia’s team which found no evidence of undue influence.