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Bates urges Fifa breakaway

Image: Bates: Controversial idea

Ken Bates believes major European football nations should leave Fifa and form their own organisation.

Leeds chairman wants elite association of countries

Ken Bates believes major European football nations should break away from Fifa following England's failed 2018 World Cup bid. Russia were awarded the tournament after beating Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium as well as England. England were praised for a strong technical bid and impressive presentation but still secured just two votes from the 22-man executive committee. Bates was dismayed that England did not win and has also hit out at the decision to let Qatar host the 2022 World Cup. The voting system has been criticised and Leeds chairman Bates thinks action needs to be taken against Fifa by forming a new governing body. Bates told Yorkshire Radio: "I'm of the opinion that the big European nations should resign from Fifa and start their own organisation. "If they (Fifa) didn't have Spain, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom there wouldn't be a Fifa. There wouldn't be a Uefa for that matter.

Contempt

"The only way to deal with Fifa is to withdraw from it and let them get on with it. "Fifa are a two-bob organisation above any law and should be treated with the contempt they deserve. "It's a case of the tail wagging the dog. We have little Jack Warner standing in the corner, Oceania, the Caribbean, and the oil states. All that happens is they keep giving the votes to Blatter so he stays there in power. "The fact of the matter is we (England) have the best stadiums and the best infrastructure. If you think of the disaster of the Champions League final in Moscow a couple of years ago when people were being billeted 100 miles away it's a joke. "And as for Qatar - I always think someone is clearing their throat when they say that.
Waste of space
"How are they going to develop football? Australia, who have all the stadia and put a tremendous Olympics on, would have put on a great show." "Fifa is a waste of space. It's a money making organisation and I don't think they give a damn about football." Asked if each individual footballing nation should have a separate vote, rather than Fifa's executive committee, Bates added: "Should the Bahamas have the same vote as England? Should Andorra have the same as Germany? No, it's rubbish, we should form an elite association of countries."

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