Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022: "Did not find any violations or breaches of the rules" (H-J Eckert)

“The evaluation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups bidding process is closed for the FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) Ethics Committee,” stated Hans-Joachim Eckert, the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee, on 13/11/2014.

“As regards the procedural framework for conducting bidding procedures related to awarding the hosts of the final competitions of FIFA World Cups, the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee did not find any violations or breaches of the relevant rules and regulations,” added Hans-Joachim Eckert.

"As such, FIFA looks forward to continuing the preparations for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, which are already well underway. For the sake of further closure, FIFA supports the independent Ethics Committee with respect to their preparedness to potentially open future cases against officials based on the information obtained during this investigation," stated the international body.

"Finally, FIFA acknowledges the recommendations mentioned in the statement with regard to improving the bidding process for future FIFA…