Russian fury on eve of World Cup vote

Last-ditch lobbying for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups cranked into overdrive Wednesday as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched a scathing attack on England’s bid on the eve of the vote.

The five countries battling for the 2022 football extravaganza — Australia, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Qatar — showcased their bids one last time to voters at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

Meanwhile, high-powered delegations from the countries slugging it out for the 2018 tournament were engaging in frenzied lobbying with the climax to the scandal-tainted vote looming less than 24 hours away.

But in a dramatic development, Russian leader Putin appeared to accuse England of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against FIFA voters which were part of a concerted effort to tilt the playing field.

“I would like to note that recently we have watched with disappointment as an obvious campaign was being unleashed against members of the FIFA executive committee,” Putin said as he announced he would not travel to Zurich.

“They are being smeared in dirt and compromised. … I interpret this as (a method of) unfair competition,” he added, without specifically naming any of Russia’s rivals.

Putin’s comments were a clear reference to recent British media reports which have accused several members of the 22-strong FIFA executive committee of corruption in the weeks leading up to the vote.

English bid officials have repeatedly sought to distance themselves from the reports, and attacked the BBC as “unpatriotic” for its decision to broadcast a critical documentary earlier this week.

Russia has emerged as the bookmakers favourite for 2018, edging ahead of England and a joint bid from Spain and Portugal. A Dutch-Belgian bid is regarded as the long-odds outsider.

England meanwhile were pulling out all the stops with Prime Minister David Cameron, heir to the throne Prince William and football icon David Beckham networking relentlessly with FIFA delegates.

Cameron met FIFA President Sepp Blatter on Tuesday before holding talks late into the night with five other members of the FIFA executive committee.

The British leader later flew back to London from Zurich to participate in Prime Minister’s questions in parliament but was due to jet back to Switzerland later Wednesday to resume campaigning.

“I know that many people will ask, well, are you spending too much time on something that might not succeed? And I would say if you don’t get onto the pitch you’ve got no chance of winning,” Cameron told lawmakers in London.

The Iberian bid meanwhile will be boosted by the presence of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Portuguese counterpart Jose Socrates for their presentation to voters early Thursday.

FIFA’s executive committee will vote in a series of ballots starting at 2:00 pm local time Thursday (1300 GMT) until one bid gains an absolute majority.

Blatter has admitted that the decision to stage the votes for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments at the same time was a mistake, raising the probability of collusion between bidders.

As the 2018 battle heated, up, the 2022 bidders were laying out their presentations at FIFA headquarters.

Australia kicked off the final pitches by offering to “turbocharge” football in Asia and the Pacific region.

The highlight of the Australian presentation was a short film starring an animated kangaroo that pinches the World Cup trophy and carries it in her pouch across Australia pursued by “Crocodile Dundee” star Paul Hogan on a motorbike.

South Korean officials meanwhile struck a more serious tone, arguing that a World Cup could help bring peace to the divided peninsula.

“A World Cup will serve as a gateway for a united Korea and a peaceful Asia,” said former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hong-Koo.

Qatar meanwhile said FIFA had an “historic opportunity” to bring the World Cup to the Middle East for the first time, building dialogue across the religious divide and promising a commercial bonanza.

The United States, which has emerged as the front-runner, used a video appeal for US President Barack Obama and a personal appeal from former leader Bill Clinton to push its claims.

“Here in America passion for football burns stronger than ever. If we are successful we will make the world proud. The game is in us,” Obama said.

Japan meanwhile outlined a futuristic vision of the World Cup, promising to deck out 400 grounds around the world with giant 3-D flatscreens to give hundreds of millions of fans the opportunity of watching matches in a stadium.