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No World Cup compo for Europe: FIFA

25th February, 2015
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FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke has ruled out any prospect of Europe’s football clubs receiving financial compensation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being moved to November-December.

“There will be no compensation. There are seven years to reorganise,” a bullish Valcke told a Doha press conference on Wednesday. “We are in agreement with the clubs.”

The decision to hold the competition in November-December was made to avoid the scorching temperatures of summer in Qatar.

European associations representing major clubs from England, Germany and France have already expressed their unhappiness with the switch recommended by a FIFA task force meeting in Qatar on Tuesday, amid speculation that some would seek financial redress for the decision.

The task force made a provisional recommendation for the tournament to start on November 26 and end on December 23, 2022, ensuring an enforced break for the domestic European leagues.

Valcke said European clubs should accept the potential switch.

“It’s not perfect we know that but why are you talking about compensation? Again, it’s happening once and we are doing nothing which destroys football. We are just changing the format and the structure of a season,” he told journalists.

An unrepentant Valcke added that FIFA had no reason to say sorry to Europe’s biggest clubs.

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“Why should we apologise to the clubs? We have had an agreement with the clubs that they are part of the beneficiaries. It was $US40 million ($A51 million) in 2010 and $US70 million ($A89.4 million) in 2014.”

A final decision will be made by the FIFA executive committee at a meeting in Zurich on March 19-20.

English Premier League boss Richard Scudamore admitted after Tuesday’s decision that he was “very disappointed” by the switch.

Frederic Thiriez, the president of the French league and of the European Professional Football Leagues, also expressed his concern, calling the November-December date “the worst solution”.

Valcke also revealed that the tournament would stretch over 28 days, instead of the normal 32 days.

Valcke also addressed the controversial issue of workers rights and said he had been to see for himself the working and living conditions for those building World Cup facilities. He conceded there was still improvements for Qatar to put in place.

Rights’ groups have accused Qatar of appalling conditions for workers and say any reforms brought in by the country have been too slow.

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The groups are calling for reform of the controversial “kafala” sponsorship system, which enables employers to prevent foreign workers from leaving the country or change jobs and has been likened to modern-day slavery.

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