Major sponsors 'urge Fifa to investigate Qatar 2022 bid'

Fifa have stated that its commercial partners have "100 percent confidence" in an ongoing investigation into the 2022 Qatar bidding process.

Fifa marketing director Thierry Weil issued a statement saying:

More: Major sponsors 'urge Fifa to investigate Qatar 2022 bid'

World Cup sponsor Visa has said it expects football's governing body Fifa to take "appropriate actions" after claims of wrongdoing made by the Sunday Times regarding the award of the 2022 tournament to Qatar.

Visa said in a statement that it "does not take part in the administration of sport", but added: "We expect Fifa will take the appropriate actions to respond to the report and its recommendations."

"We understand Fifa is taking this matter seriously and we will continue to monitor its internal investigation.

Read: Sony expects Fifa to 'adhere to its principles'

World Cup sponsor adidas said they are "confident" the allegations of corruption surrounding Qatar's World Cup bid were "being dealt with as a priority".

A spokeswoman told ITV News:

Read: Sony expects Fifa to 'adhere to its principles'

World Cup official partner Sony has said that they expect Fifa to stand by its principles, after claims of wrongdoing regarding the Qatar 2022 bidding process were published in The Sunday Times (£).

Sony told the newspaper: "We continue to expect Fifa to adhere to its principles of integrity, ethics and fair play across all aspects of its operations."

The call comes as The Sunday Times released a new batch of secret documents on the bidding process.

More: Major sponsor 'urges Fifa to investigate Qatar 2022 bid'

Labour leader Ed Miliband said there was an "overwhelming case" for the World Cup 2022 bidding process to be "reopened immediately" if the allegations made by The Sunday Times were proven to be true.

Mr Miliband told the newspaper their allegations were "startling".

His comments come after the newspaper published fresh allegations against former Fifa vice-president Mohammed bin Hammam, in which they claim he used the wealth of Qatar to influence members of Fifa's executive committee.

Read: Sony 'urges Fifa to investigate Qatar 2022 bidding process'

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has tweeted:

Read: Football chief 'used Qatar wealth to win Fifa votes'

Former Fifa vice-president and Qatar's top football chief used the country's wealth to win support in its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, The Sunday Times (£) has claimed.

The newspaper, which has access to hundreds of millions of secret documents, claims Mohammed bin Hammam offered meetings with Qatar's royal family and government in a bid to influence key voters.

Bin Hammam allegedly secured government talks between Qatar and Thailand on a gas deal that was apparently worth tens of millions of dollars for the latter country.

He was also reportedly invited to discuss "bilateral relations" in sport between Russia and Qatar with Vladimir Putin a month before the countries victories in the 2018 and 2022 votes.

The Sunday Times also claims he set up meetings with the Qatari royal family for at least seven members of Fifa's executive committee including Sepp Blatter, the president of football's governing body.

The Qatar bid committee denies all of the allegations.

Watch: Cameron says England would provide a home for World Cup

A major World Cup sponsor has urged Fifa to carry out an "appropriate investigation" into the bidding process which saw Qatar awarded football's elite tournament in 2022, according to reports.

Read: Pressure mounts on Fifa over Qatar 2022 World Cup

Japanese electronics firm Sony became the first big sponsor to call on football's governing body to investigate the bid.

The company's call comes as The Sunday Times (£) published further secret documents, which they claim shows Qatar's top football chief exploited the country's wealth to win votes for its World Cup bid.

Former Fifa vice-president Mohamed bin Hammam arranged meetings and favours with the Qatari government and royal family for key World Cup voters in the months before the ballot, the newspaper claims.

Watch: Cameron says England would provide a home for World Cup