"I wasn’t part of the Qatari bid, I never spoke to the Qatari bid team. If they had contacted me, I would’ve said their bid was even stupider than the U.S. bid."

-- UMBC professor Dennis Coates, the president of the Association of Sports Economists, after it was revealed by the Sunday Times he was paid $9,000 to write a report -- containing, he says, nothing different than he had written before -- that questioned the economic benefits of the 2022 World Cup being held in the United States. Qatar, which won the 20222 hostings rights, is accused of employing a New York-based p.r. firm to smear the campaigns of rival bids – charges the Qataris deny. (ITV News)

"What is clear is that 25 or 30 years ago [coaching Colombia] was a dream. Now, it is a professional objective. The big difference between the dream and the objective is that the objective has an action plan which I am carrying out."

-- Colombian-born Juan Carlos Osorio, who said he and his advisers have received numerous coaching offers since he stepped down as Mexican national team coach but Colombia was not among them. Colombian national team coach Jose Pekerman's contract is set to expire. (Caracol Radio via Xinhua)