Fifa confirmed last night it will investigate allegations that two members of its committee have offered to sell their votes in the bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.

The race to host the tournament became clouded in controversy after the Sunday Times reported that Amos Adamu, a Fifa executive committee member from Nigeria, was filmed negotiating a deal with an undercover reporter where he would be paid £500,000 for his vote. Adamu requested the money, which would be used to build four artificial football pitches in Nigeria, would be paid to him personally.

The deal was allegedly finalised last month in Cairo when Adamu confirmed he would vote for the USA to host the 2018 World Cup. The USA has since withdrawn from the race and will focus on the bid for 2022.

It was also claimed that the president of the Oceania Football Confederation, Reynald Temarii, asked for £1.5m to fund a sports academy in exchange for his vote. In his meeting with an undercover reporter in Auckland, Temarii alleged that Oceania had been offered sums between £6m and £7.5m for their vote by supporters of two rival bid committees.

A statement from Fifa last night said: "Fifa and the Fifa ethics committee have closely monitored the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and will continue to do so.

"Fifa has already requested to receive all of the information and documents related to this matter, and is awaiting to receive this material.

"In any case, Fifa will immediately analyse the material available and only once this analysis has concluded will Fifa be able to decide on any potential next steps.

"In the meantime, Fifa is not in a position to provide any further comments on this matter."

England are competing to host the 2018 World Cup with Russia, and joint bids from Spain and Portugal, and Holland and Belgium.

The Sunday Times quoted a former member of the Fifa committee downplaying England's chances of succeeding because they refused to offer such deals. "England have got all the good reasons why they should host it but they don't strike the deals , It's sad but true."

This is really sad. Is there anything that Nigerians won't sell? We seem to be at the wrong end of all sporting stories of recent, first the doping scandals from the Commonwealth Games, and now this.
To put your hand up in a room of internationals and proudly state you are a Nigerian was always difficult thanks to our notorious scam connections, this now makes it close to impossible!
Depressing!

No wonder nigerian football is never moving forward when the idiots like amos adamu and his cabal are busy sucking up the freaking organsisation dry fianciallly, great the newspaper caught the thief red handed, or else he will call it witch hunting. the bloody thief wants $500,000 paid onto his account, gready bastard without even sharing it or using part of it to build and develop grassroots football in the country. Why are black people so fcukkking gready, black man, black brain , black mentality, may his life be filled with sorrow and disapointment