Fifa: Winter the only option for 2022 WC

Posted Tuesday, February 24, 2015 by Foxsports.com

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, the head of a Fifa task force on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, says that it will only be possible to hold the tournament in winter.

The 2022 edition of the football showpiece will be held in the Gulf region, but the sweltering temperatures mean that the competition cannot be held during the Northern Hemisphere summer as has traditionally been the case.

Instead it appears likely that the World Cup will take place in November-December, a move which is likely to cause havoc in the European domestic leagues, with the English Premier League in particular to be left in a difficult predicament. A second winter option of January-February has been all but dismissed due as the 2022 Winter Olympics are already scheduled for January.

"We don't want it to collide during that period," Sheikh Salman said of the January option.

"Stakeholders are concerned about playing in the summer, so we have to change to winter. That's January or November. They have to make a choice - either a) or b).

"But I think everybody agrees that in January or February it's difficult to play for the reasons that I mentioned before [Winter Olympics clash].

"The only option that I see is November/December."

He added: "All parties have to compromise, not just the Europeans."

Sheikh Salman is hopeful that his proposal is a "done deal", and that "hopefully we can settle this issue once and for all" when the Fifa board meets in Doha on Tuesday.