The 2014 FIFA World Cup is off and running, but it was the 2022 World Cup that made news late Thursday evening. Mixed reports are emerging that FIFA has contacted the United States concerning the availability of the 2022 World Cup.

The current 2022 host nation, Qatar, is currently under investigation for corruption allegations and if found guilty will be stripped as host country. United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati commented on the reports and said they are simply not true and that he doesn't expect to hear from FIFA anytime soon concerning Qatar.

If the United States ends up hosting the 2022 World Cup, it would be the ultimate prize considering how much the U.S. has put into the bid process. The United States originally bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but later retracted the 2018 bid to focus on solely the 2022 games. The 2022 competition included Australia, Japan, the Korea Republic and Qataras of December 2010, but in the end it came down to the United States and Qatar.

Qatar won its hosting rights with a 14-8 victory over the United States bid as the voting went into the fourth round before finally declaring a winner. Other than the mixed reports, it is unknown how FIFA will go about the 2022 World Cup bid process, but if Qatar is found guilty of corruption he United States will be on call.

[Fox Sports]

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