KSA submitted its “comprehensive plan” just 65 minutes after the announcement was made regarding the bidding process.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) promptly endorsed the Saudi bid, while Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore were still trying to recover from the shock of the sudden October 31 deadline.
Indonesia threw in the towel on October 19 and Australia was the last one to fall.
The Guardian’s Jack Snape reported “Australia had been issued indirect warnings by some of football’s most powerful administrators not to bid”.
According to Yahoo, it was Infantino himself who attempted to “dissuade” Australia and Indonesia. The report claims Infantino told the presidents of all AFC nations, including Australia, they should unite behind one bid.
That was followed by a message from AFC president Sheikh Salman that “explicitly” called for unanimous support for Saudi Arabia.