Participating in Leaders Sports Summit in New York, Gulati, a member of FIFA's Executive Committee, was asked whether the United States would bid for the World Cup in 2026.

"The answer is maybe," Gulati said.

"Maybe we'll bid.

"Whether we get it or not is obviously contingent.

"We're not going to bid unless the rules are changed.

"I've said this relatively recently.

"The rules of bidding and some of the other governance procedures at FIFA need to change.

"I've said that before I was on the Executive Committee, and I still believe it.

"I could outline a number of those things, but we're not prepared to bid if the rules don't change."

Gulati, who in March was unanimously re-elected to a record third four-year term as USSF President, highlighted a few key areas that he felt needed to be addressed by FIFA.

He said that technical reports submitted by bidding countries "needed to mean more" and believes that "there should be public disclosure of votes".

He added: "There's no reason, and the International Olympic Committee made this change, that Executive Committee members, or in the next case all federation Presidents, need to visit member countries to see if they have an airport, and on and on and on.

"It's not normal, and customary gifts, there's got to be a limit financially.

"If that part of the process can change, then of course we're interested in bringing the World Cup to the United States."

FIFA awarded Qatar the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Zürich on December 2, 2010, with 14 Executive Committee members voting for the nation ahead of the United States, which received eight votes ©Getty Images



His comments come after the controversy that surrounded the bids for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which went to Russia and Qatar respectively, where widespread allegations of corruption and bribery have circled the media.

The decision to award the tournament to Qatar in 2022 was met with the most scepticism with criticism, not only over the validity of the vote, but also the treatment of foreign workers employed on World Cup infrastructure projects, as well as when in 2022 the tournament should be played.

Qatar's victory in the race for 2022 also came despite a FIFA technical report which warned of the dangers of staging the tournament in the nation's searing summer months.

FIFA chief Sepp Blatter has denied that the oil-rich country had "bought" the World Cup, but said Qatar did have powerful backers and that "political pressures" had been brought to bear, notably from France and Germany.

The decision came as a big blow to the United States, in particular, with it being one of the countries considered to have a very good chance at landing the 2022 World Cup hosting rights.

Their bid was ultimately beaten by that of Qatar's by 14 votes to eight in the final round.

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