The new revelations by the Sunday Times regarding the role of the former president of the Asian Football Confederation in awarding the right to host the 2022 World Cup to Qatar have shocked the sports world.

According to new data released by the British newspaper, Mohamed bin Hammam has set up an entire mechanism inside FIFA, bribing dozen of officials with amounts totaling $5 million (3,6 million euros) to secure their support for the Qatar bid.

The Sunday Times has obtained millions of secret documents – emails, letters and bank transfers that prove that Bin Hammam was lobbying on his country’s behalf at least a year before the decision.

It all started in December 2010, before the vote to award the hosting right of the World Cup. Bin Hammam, thinking that the World Cup would contribute to the development of tourism in Qatar, didn’t want to risk losing the opportunity and launched a campaign of corruption, bribing those who had a say in the final decision. More specifically, it is alleged that Bin Hammam targeted Football Associations in Africa and used a number of slush funds to pay cash to high ranking football officials to gain their support.

According to The Sunday Times they have evidence that Jack Warner, former Chief of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, had more than $1.6m funnelled into his accounts by Bin Hammam, including $450,000 for his vote.

It should be noted that Bin Hammam, a former FIFA executive, was removed from his post after it was found that he had used money to influence votes during his campaign to become FIFA President in 2011.