The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be held in June-July and would best be held in the winter time, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke said on Wednesday.
The scheduling of the tournament has been hotly debated ever since it was controversially awarded to Qatar in December 2010, especially over fears that the summer heat in the Gulf emirate would be dangerous for players and fans alike.
“The dates for the World Cup (in Qatar) will not be June-July,” Valcke, the second most powerful man in international football’s governing body, told Radio France.
“To be honest, I think it will be held between November 15 and January 15 at the latest.
“If you play between November 15 and the end of December that’s the time when the weather conditions are best, when you can play in temperatures equivalent to a warm spring season in Europe, averaging 25 degrees.
“That would be perfect for playing football.”
Valcke did not say whether he favoured a World Cup in the winter of 2021-22 or 2022-23, but the deciding factor could be the timing of the Winter Olympics in early 2022.
The awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar has been beset by criticism, especially over the searing heat that bakes the Gulf emirate in the summer when the tournament is traditionally held.
Calls had grown increasingly strident to switch it to the winter time to accommodate players and supporters.
But this ran into opposition from European clubs, who would lose their top players for several weeks in the middle of the season and from the International Olympic Committee fearful of any competition with the 2022 Winter Olympics.
World Cup organising committee officials in Qatar have insisted they were prepared for all eventualities concerning the 2022 showpiece.
“From the beginning, we’ve always said we can stage the World Cup in summer,” said Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 Organising Committee last month.
“The cooling system for the stadia will be very much part of our legacy. But if the football world or FIFA want it to be staged in the winter then we are happy and ready. If they want it in summer, then we are still ready.”
In October FIFA said they would listen to the views of all concerned parties — players, clubs, leagues, federations and sponsors — with a view to taking a final decision on dates in December of this year.
It remains to be seen what the reaction to a possible winter World Cup will be from top European clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich who risk having to do without their top players at a key period for domestic leagues and the Champions League.
Click here for the full draw of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
What's surprising is the attitude towards the EPL moving their season. It was not a problem for the AFL to have an 8 week gap in their season, but this is now a massive problem for the EPL?
Tom Jones
Guest
Don't exaggerate too much on Anglo Saxon countries focussing on the Anglo Saxon EPL. 7 or 8 is a stretch.
Mike
Roar Guru
I hope so too. But I think we'll have a much stronger national team by then. With the way the A-League and NPL growing the way they are, I foresee our rank slowly increasing over time. As for the A-League, yeah they'd probably have an intermission. Not sure what they'll do. Unless they reschedule some matches throughout the season to be mid-week...
Alicesprings
Guest
I just hope we make the 2022 World Cup! Also correct me if I'm wrong but will this mean the aleague will have to start in feb/march?? If that's the case theres going to be some busy stadiums ie suncorp & aami.
jkmac
Guest
It also proves that the AFL had every right to stand up for their contractual rights given FIFA were liable to arbitrarily shift the time of the World Cup to November and December - which would also be ideal for hosting in Australia!
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
What a (bad) joke! And guys like Zidane and Guardiola were ambassadors for Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid, no questioned asked.
Australian Rules
Guest
...or, change the requirements that FIFA set for hosting a World Cup. The 40,000 seat minimum is one. That's a billion dollars per stadium right there.
Jorji Costava - The Guru's Guru
Guest
Human rights abuses in South Africa?
Punter
Guest
If you think about it, there are only very few first world countries around the world, you have Western Europe (need to take away the PIIGS countries as well), US, Canada, Japan, Australia & New Zealand & even maybe Singapore. The rest would be classified as GROWTH countries. Most of these countries the middle class are still nowhere near being the majority & hence watching sport would not be a priority over working to get food on a table. So when you look at it that way, really only US, Germany, France, Britain & Japan has the population/money to justify sufficient 50K stadiums to host a world cup, Australia and Canada would come close but probably 1 or 2 stadiums short. Italy would definitely be a possibility apart from recent issues. So really until the middle class of India, China, Russia, Brazil & Indonesia grow, we might need to confine the world cup to those countries above.
oly
Guest
Got to agree. It's not an indication of what's the best league, but the TV money the EPL would receive worldwide would dwarf any other league. Therefore they have the most power, or most pressure from TV networks to try and change things.
Australian Rules
Guest
Importantly, the Americans can also justify their stadiums because they fill em up every year with NFL games. Many of the space-age 50k seat stadiums currently being built in Brazil are located in towns where the average attendance for the local soccer club is 5k.
Kevin
Guest
Agreed which is why re USA is always at the top of the tree for hosting given their immense range and quality of built and operating stadia
AZ_RBB
Guest
I see just as many Barca, Real, Juve and Milan jerseys around my area as I do of any EPL club. But the EPL has 7 or 8 clubs with a strong international presence. Far more than any other league in Europe or around the world.
Tom Jones
Guest
You speak from a Western sydney perspective infatuated with the EPL. That used to be your focus before WSW. Not a European perspective with the likes of Madrid, Barca, Bayern, Juve, Milan,Dortmund etc........
Australian Rules
Guest
Let's not look to FIFA for an ethical compass on this one. It's about big, sweaty, container loads of cash. A serious problem that FIFA (and the IOC) are creating for themselves, is the rising cost of hosting these events. Here's an estimated spend for recent Olympic hosts: Sydney 2000 - $AUD2B Athens 2004 - €9B (bet they regretted that one) Beijing 2008 - $US44B London 2012 - £9B Russia is spending $US51B on the Sochi *Winter* games...more than Beijing, despite the Summer games having 3 times as many events. It's even worse for the World Cup. Soon, countries in the Middle East may be the only ones actually able to afford hosting a World Cup!
Punter
Guest
Without doubt the biggest farce FIFA has ever done, this most deceitful, corrupt organisation, who thinks they are beyond reproach. I so hope this is the catalyst for their downfall. Just like what IOC did, quick need for cleansing starting with the corrupt Blatter & all the members.
Franko
Guest
One of the major problems as I see it is that FIFA cannot back down now. The climate in Qatar (or much of the middle east) is not likely to get cooler as the years go by, so by removing the WC from Qatar for climate reasons, you are basically saying that some of the richest nations in the world can *never* host a WC, think: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE. If however, they decided to move the WC based on Qatars human rights abuses, it would make a mockery of having already staged a WC in South Africa and planning another in Russia. FIFA have backed themselves in to a corner and have to go through with this thing whatever the cost, but I suspect they always knew that but were too busy counting bills in envelopes to care.
Mateo Corbo
Guest
Qatar having the WC will not do anything to raise the profile of football in the country. Japan/Sth Korea & USA used the WC as a springboard to improve the standing of football in their countries. What will be achieved in Qatar, other than some rich minority basking in their own glow? Completely pointless, and just a George Bush II moment for FIFA. Lies & corruption.
Jared
Roar Pro
Agreed... How is this not thought of during the bidding process and the subsequent voting. Just a joke.
Drew
Guest
I hope there is a break in every league across the world. The World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport