The Football Association was once again rocked by scandal when Lord Treisman, chairman of both the FA and England's 2018 World Cup bid, was forced to resign after the Mail On Sunday published excerpts from a conversation in which Treisman accused Spain and Russia of conspiring to bribe officials in South Africa.

The comments came from a secretly-recorded conversation between Treisman and Mellissa Jacobs, a former aid and romantic partner. Treisman speculated that Russia would assist Spain in bribing the referees to favor the Spanish side during the World Cup. In exchange, Spain, a long shot to hold the 2018 World Cup, would withdraw their bid and switch allegiances to Russia, England's main competition.

"There's some evidence that the Spanish football authorities are trying to identify the referees...and pay them," Triesman allegedly said. "My assumption is that the Latin Americans, although they've not said so, will vote for Spain. And if Spain drop out, because Spain are looking for help from the Russians to help bribe the referees in the World Cup, their votes may then switch to Russia."

The FA allegedly tried to get an injunction against the Mail on Sunday in an attempt to stop the story from being printed but withdrew the injunction after a 90-minute legal battle. "After fully discussing and considering the alleged comments with Lord Triesman, The FA Board accepted his resignation as FA Chairman and Chairman of the World Cup Bid Board with immediate effect," said a statement released by the FA Sunday morning.

The scandal comes just days after David Beckham delivered England's 1,752-page bid book to FIFA outlining their bid for the 2018 tournament.

The turmoil in the FA over recent years and the embarrassment over the inability for the FA to keep Wembley, the marquee football stadium in England, match fit has seriously damaged the country's bid. So what does that mean for the other countries involved in the bidding process? It has been all but confirmed by FIFA that the 2018 tournament will be held in Europe with four countries in the running. England and Russia are the front runners while joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands are considered dark horses. Russia has come on to the international stage by successfully hosting a Champion's League final in 2008 and serious backing from their government bolsters their legitimacy . Working against Russia is the lack of a strong domestic league and the sheer size of the country would make it difficult for teams to travel from venue to venue.

If England fails the country that would receive the biggest boost to their bid would be the USA. FIFA has not awarded consecutive World Cup's to countries that share a common language since the 70's. With football growing exponentially outside of the traditional hubs South America and Europe it seems unlikely FIFA will grant two-straight cups to countries who are so culturally similar. But the USA offers a bid that warrants no additional stadiums or upgrades to infrastructure. USA 94 set attendance records despite the country having no professional league and a national team that was eliminated in the second round.

Australia's bid has lost a lot of its momentum with the revelation three new stadiums would need to be built and stark opposition from other Australian sports leagues. After the constant worries during the buildup in South Africa over stadium completion and viability of infrastructure FIFA will be wary of any countries with a lot of work still to do before the tournament starts.

Qatar, once considered an extreme long shot, is now one of the front runners due to public backing by FIFA President Phil Blatter. "The Arabic world deserves a World Cup," said Blatter on a recent trip to the Middle East. Qatar's main stumbling block is the extreme heat during the summer months. The average temperature is over 40°C (104°F) during June and July. Bid officals have revealed technology that would be outfitted to their stadiums that can lower the temperature by 20°C to make the heat bearable for players and fans. Qatar, with a population of only 1.3 million, would be by far the smallest nation to host a FIFA World Cup but has the wealth and resources to handle the massive influx of people.

Japan and South Korea submitted separate bids for 2022 despite being co-hosts in 2002. It would be a massive surprise if either of the Asian nations received the tournament because of how recently they hosted the tournament. Japan's bid relied on the additional stadiums that would be built as part of Tokyo's 2016 Olympic bid. With Tokyo failing to secure the Olympic games it is unlikely the Japanese government would give the Japanese bid the financial backing it needs to sway FIFA voters. South Korea is in a similar position with not enough stadiums and not enough money to build new ones.

Even if England weathers this public relation hailstorm and secures the 2018 bid the USA would still be considered a front runner in the race for 2022 due to the emergence of the sport and the immense potential for financial gain for FIFA. But Blatter's constant desire to use the World Cup as a way to introduce the sport to areas of the globe that have no embraces football fully yet gives hope to countries like Qatar and Australia. FIFA's decision on the location for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cup's will be revealed this December.

Related posts:

1. Analysis of Bids for 2018 World Cup — Part I Over the past few weeks, numerous nations have bid for...
2. Official Bids For 2018 & 2022 World Cups Confirmed Who will hold the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups? ...
3. Analysis of Bids for 2018 World Cup — Part II Let’s begin Part II of our analysis of bidders for...

Over the past few weeks, numerous nations have bid for the rights to host the 2018 & 2002 FIFA World Cup. Since the 2018 World Cup is closer most of the news about host nation bids concerns the 2018 tournament. With 2010 in South Africa and 2014 in Brazil,  nations from UEFA, CONCACAF, Asia can bid for the 2018 tournament so the decision on the host nation for 2022 tournament will be impacted by the winning bidder for the 2018 tournament.

Officially, there have been 6 confirmed bids with a bid from CONCACAF nations coming soon. Those nations interested in hosting the '18 & '22 tournaments have until February 2nd to submit an official bid. In Part I, we will look at 4 of the official bids and give an outlook on their chances of winning the right to host The Great Tournament.

AUSTRALIA

The Land Down Under has successfully hosted 2 Olympic Games, 1956 Melbourne & 2000 Sydney as well as 2 FIFA U-20s World Cups in 1993 & 1981 and 2003 Rugby World Cup. Aussies are not strangers to hosting big events and with the Australian A-League in full effect, the stadiums should be up to FIFA standards with infrastructure being a non issue.

Outlook: FIFA President, Sepp Blatter recently suggested that Australia concentrate on 2022 because the 2010 & 2014 World Cups would be in the Southern Hemisphere so Australia might be the front runner in 2022.

BELGIUM & NETHERLANDS
 &
The bid of Belgium & Netherlands is one of the two joint bids submitted to FIFA. The two main entities of the Benelux countries may be too small to host the World Cup. Right now, between Belgium & The Netherlands there aren't 12 stadiums with a minimum capacity of 40,000 and 1 stadium of a capacity of 80,000 as per FIFA standards for hosting a World Cup, although Belgian officials have plans to upgrade stadiums to meet the requirements.

Outlook: A miracle if they get '18 or '22. Especially with a European joint bid like Spain & Portugal out there.

ENGLAND

The hosts & winners of the 1966 World Cup have the passion to pull off a great World Cup.  Stadiums won't be a problem especially since the Stanley Park project for Liverpool will probably be complete by then.  If there is a problem in securing England's bid it may internal politics between the hierarchy of the FA & the hierarchy of the Premier League. They will have to grill whatever beef they have and come together to win over the 24 member FIFA Executive Committee.

Outlook: Easily a serious candidate, Spain/Portugal bid is their biggest competition.

PORTUGAL & SPAIN
 &
The Iberian peninsula threw their marbles in the circle with a joint bid for the 2018 World Cup.  The Japan/Korea World Cup of 2002 proved that dual hosts can work.  Spain & Portugal have 8 of UEFA's 5-star stadiums (3 in Portgual, 5 in Spain). Spain hosted the 1982 World Cup and Portugal hosted the Euro 2004.  Talk is that Latin American members of FIFA's Executive Committee would vote for Spain/Portugal because of the cultural & language similarities.

Outlook: Shocked if they don't get 2018 Tournament. Everything is set up well for a smooth tournament.

Part II is coming to analyze the last two known official bids and a couple of expected bids from CONCACAF that will make FIFA's decision much tougher. 

Related posts:

1. Official Bids For 2018 & 2022 World Cups Confirmed Who will hold the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups? ...
2. FIFA Receives 11 Official Bids For 2018 & 2022 World Cups The deadline for nations to bid on the 2018 &...
3. Analysis of Bids for 2018 World Cup — Part II Let’s begin Part II of our analysis of bidders for...