Crisitunity: Improving World Cup Host Selection in Football and Rugby

Abstract

The recent scandal in selecting the host of the FIFA World Cup has shown that corruption in selecting host cities for sporting events persists, even in a post-Salt Lake City-scandal world. The alleged corruption of voters during the host selection process has demonstrated that cleaning up the process will take more than writing more anti-corruption rules, but that real, systemic reform must be undertaken.

This paper examines the host selection process for the FIFA World Cup, and compares it to the Rugby World Cup selection process. Both have had their share of concerns in the past decade, and provide interesting insights into the nature of bidding for sporting events.

Three modest, but systemic changes to the selection process are suggested: 1) establishing a written process, 2) choosing only one host at a time, and 3) having the host selected by the general assembly. These minor changes create transparency that currently does not exist in either bidding process, but exists in other organizations’ processes, such as the Olympics. A fourth reform, publication of vote results, is considered, but is not conclusively resolved.

Keywords: FIFA, International Rugby Board, World Cup, Rugby World Cup, Football, Rugby, Bidding

JEL Classification: K33, L83