AUSTRALIA may have been cheated out of hosting the 2022 World Cup, after damning new evidence has revealed how the chosen hosts Qatar allegedly bribed FIFA officials to secure their votes.

According to a report in the Sunday Times, Qatar used a $5.4 million slush fund to secure the support of key members of the 24-man ruling committee.

Australia’s bid for the 2022 World Cup ended in humiliation after they received just one vote.

The paper alleges that evidence uncovered in emails shows how Mohamed Bin Hammam, former president of the Asian Football Confederation, showered committee members with lavish trips and large cash payments.

In one incident Bin Hammam is believed to have flown in 25 African delegates to Kuala Lumpur for the purposes of discussing the bid. At some point during the meeting he is thought to have handed over $215,000 in cash.

The Sunday Times also alleges that former head of Caribbean football Jack Warner was paid $485,000 before the 2010 bid.

Bin Hammam was banned from FIFA for life in 2011 after it was revealed he had bribed officials to try to secure votes for the FIFA presidency.

Qatar was handed the 2022 World Cup on the same day that Russia was awarded the 2018 competition.

Australia’s hosting bid, fronted by Elle Macpherson and Governor-General Quentin Bryce, was over after the first round of voting in 2010.

Japan, South Korea and the US were knocked out in the subsequent rounds in favour of Qatar.

Given the country’s lack of footballing infrastructure and extreme heat, many were dismayed at the controversial decision, which was plagued with rumours of corruption from the start.

Six weeks before the vote two members of the voting committee were suspended, after they were caught asking for bribes, meaning that 22 people voted instead of the usual 24.

Last month, FIFA president Sepp Blatter admitted it had been a “mistake” to hand the tournament to Qatar, with FIFA now considering switching the event to winter to avoid Qatar’s extreme summer heat.

The Qatari World Cup committee is currently under investigation by FIFA’s ethics investigator Michael Garcia.