Socceroos defender Jade North has hit out the decision to play the 2022 World Cup in the middle of summer in Qatar.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter confirmed this week that the tournament would be played in the northern hemisphere summer, just weeks after suggesting it could be moved to winter.
North, who spent a month in Qatar with the Socceroos at the Asian Cup, said the it would result in a sub-standard World Cup,” North said.
“I’ve played in qualifiers in June-July and it (the heat) is just dreadful.
“You can’t play world class football in that heat.”
Australia made the final of the Asian Cup, played in January where the temperatures are typically in the mid-20s Celsius, conditions North found to his liking.
“They’ve got to move it so it was like it was when we were there. It would be fantastic if they could because you can’t play in 45-degree heat.”
But Blatter said there were no plans to stage the World Cup in the European winter months.
“Everything is settled now for summer and with all 64 matches in the territory of Qatar,” he told the BBC.
Qatar controversially won the right to host the tournament in December defeating bids from Australia, Japan, South Korea and United States.
They plan to use air-conditioned stadiums to combat the stifling desert heat.
While the timing of the tournament does not sit well with North, he was impressed with the facilities in Qatar.
“It was first class. At the training facilities the grass was like carpet.”
The quality of the stadiums also got his seal of approval and he felt the compactness of the emirate could be an advantage for fans.
“You could watch two World Cup games in one day. Every stadium is only 10 minutes from each other,” he said.
Funktapuss
Guest
Long, long overdue. Aussie soccer has only been waiting about 100 years for this.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Rumours floating around the Twittersphere of a Socceroos vs England friendly at Wembley later this year, perhaps Oct.
djsinnema
Roar Rookie
Qatar would have to be one of the most scrutnized bids that we will ever see, If it does not look like they will be able to provide what they promiced, a fair bit in advance, they will surly lose it. You will also find that FIFA will be quite critical of the Qatar government.
Judge Smails
Guest
Once Sepp Blatter get's the big 'e' the 2022 is up for renegotiation. My bet is in 2022, we are all going to America. So don't waste too much of your thoughts on Qatar. Colombia was awarded the 1986, but was stripped of it because they found the stadiums were paid for with narco money. Who knows what will happen in the Gulf in the next 11 years. There could be wars(more than likely), collapsed states(like Dubai). The region is built on sand.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
The big clubs were never going to allow a one month hiatus to accommodate the world cup.