Editing Sepp Blatter (section)

=== World Cup's chosen sites ===
[[File:Barack Obama and Sepp Blatter in the Oval Office.jpg|thumb|Blatter with [[Barack Obama]] and [[Jack Warner (football executive)|Jack Warner]]. In the vote for the [[2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids|2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups]], U.S. President Obama said that FIFA made "the wrong decision" in awarding Qatar the tournament in 2022.<ref name="Qat">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9250612.stm|title=Russia & Qatar will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups|date=2 December 2010|work=BBC Sport|access-date=14 December 2010|archive-date=12 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012235750/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9250612.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
It was reported that Blatter had "cut an unofficial deal with UEFA head [[Michel Platini]]" to ensure Europe would receive the 2018 World Cup, such that if the non-European bids did not withdraw from 2018 "they will find themselves frozen out and not given any backing by the FIFA High Command, damaging their chances of being serious contenders for the second tournament."<ref name="mirr_Boos">{{Cite web | title = Boost for England's 2018 World Cup bid as FIFA want European host | work = Mirror Online (UK) | date = 19 February 2010 | access-date = 2 June 2015 | url = https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/boost-englands-2018-world-cup-3362214 | archive-date = 8 December 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191208020830/https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/boost-englands-2018-world-cup-3362214 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering 13 nations. Mexico and Indonesia withdrew. Five of the remaining nine bids—South Korea, Qatar, Japan, Australia and the United States—were only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others were bidding for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2009-12-03-2489687100_x.htm |title=Bid teams focus on 2018, 2022 WCup hosting prize |first=Graham |last=Dunbar |work=[[USA Today]] |date=3 December 2009 |access-date=10 December 2009 |archive-date=30 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430153007/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2009-12-03-2489687100_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Because all of the bids for the 2018 World Cup were from European nations, and FIFA's rules dictate that countries belonging to confederations that hosted either of the two preceding tournaments are not eligible to host,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/administration/releases/newsid=625122.html#rotation+ends+2018 |title=Rotation ends in 2018 |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association |access-date=10 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071101002817/http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/administration/releases/newsid%3D625122.html |archive-date= 1 November 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the bids of England, Russia, Netherlands/Belgium and Spain/Portugal were forced to be for 2018 only.