Thursday 14 April 2016 09:24, UK
Gianni Infantino has warned anyone who is still corrupt at FIFA to get out before they are caught.
The new FIFA president has promised to clean up world football's governing body after a year of corruption scandals and controversy.
"I don't know whether there are still individuals or entities that are corrupt, I hope not," Infantino said. "If there are, then they have the choice now to leave FIFA because sooner or later either we or justice will catch them and they will be kicked out and punished."
Infantino became FIFA president in February after his predecessor Sepp Blatter was banned from football for six years.
Former UEFA president Michel Platini and former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke are also serving long bans and Infantino says he fully supports the US and Swiss investigations which have targeted football officials.
Many of FIFA's problems started with the controversial decision to hold the vote for the right to host the 2018 and the 2022 World Cups at the same time.
In a wide-ranging interview with Fox Sports, Infantino says the decision on who will host the 2026 World Cup will be taken in 2020.
"The bids will start now with the consultation phase," Infantino said. "We have to make sure that this bidding process is absolutely bulletproof, that we create a transparent process and this takes of course a little bit of time, a little bit of consultation. And so we start the process now. It will take three or four years and we will make a decision."
Infantino campaigned for the presidency on a platform of reform and transparency, but he was caught up in the Panama Papers scandal last month. Files leaked from a Panamanian law firm showed that in 2006, when Infantino worked at UEFA, they signed a TV deal with a businessman who last year was accused by US prosecutors of paying bribes to football executives.
"I have made it very clear that this whole situation is basically a non-story," Infantino said. "There was a tender process. Everything is well documented. It has been done completely transparently and properly. If then after the deal has been concluded some people have committed a criminal activity, then these people need to be judged.
"I am feeling relaxed because I know the facts. I know everything was done correctly. I was at the beginning quite upset about how it was reported. I think it was just disgraceful the way it was portrayed."
Infantino is pressing on with proposals to expand the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams. He hinted that the 2026 World Cup could be in the United States although he would be staying neutral.
When challenged on the disparity in pay levels between men and women footballers, Infantino said the gap was being closed but he refused to endorse equal prize money at World Cups.
"I think this is linked with many different elements that need to be discussed", he said. "There is not a straightforward answer to this."
