England's failed 2018 World Cup bid tried to use the Duke of York's relationship with the Qatari royal family to secure a voting alliance.
Following a freedom of information request, the BBC has learned diplomats and the Football Association worked on a Qatar strategy to help England's bid.
Qatar's own bid for the 2022 tournament event was ultimately successful.
Spain and Portugal were accused of breaking Fifa rules by forming a voting alliance with Qatar. The emails revealed by this freedom of information request show for the first time the lengths to which England was prepared to go to win backing for its campaign. Time and again in correspondence from foreign office and embassy officials in Qatar, it was made clear that securing the support of the Emir of Qatar would be crucial to England's chances of success.
A plan was discussed to use the influence of the Royal Family, in particular the Duke of York, to secure a voting alliance between England's 2018 bid and Qatar's own challenge for the 2022 event. One email said: "The advice from the ambassador in Doha is that, subject to anything that happened at that meeting, we should ask the Duke to be kind enough to speak to the Emir on the phone as soon as is convenient and before 23 April in order to seek his support for the England bid."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9415416.stm
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And yet we STILL failed? Man, we suck...
Following a freedom of information request, the BBC has learned diplomats and the Football Association worked on a Qatar strategy to help England's bid.
Qatar's own bid for the 2022 tournament event was ultimately successful.
Spain and Portugal were accused of breaking Fifa rules by forming a voting alliance with Qatar. The emails revealed by this freedom of information request show for the first time the lengths to which England was prepared to go to win backing for its campaign. Time and again in correspondence from foreign office and embassy officials in Qatar, it was made clear that securing the support of the Emir of Qatar would be crucial to England's chances of success.
A plan was discussed to use the influence of the Royal Family, in particular the Duke of York, to secure a voting alliance between England's 2018 bid and Qatar's own challenge for the 2022 event. One email said: "The advice from the ambassador in Doha is that, subject to anything that happened at that meeting, we should ask the Duke to be kind enough to speak to the Emir on the phone as soon as is convenient and before 23 April in order to seek his support for the England bid."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9415416.stm
--------------------
And yet we STILL failed? Man, we suck...