Tags
|
The prospect of switching the dates for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar so that it is played in winter is increasing, a leading FIFA official said yesterday. |
“We are getting closer to narrowing the dates to two options - January and February 2022 or November and December 2022,” said FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke. “But FIFA has also been asked to consider May 2022.”
Valcke was speaking after a FIFA meeting in Zurich in which the European Clubs Association (ECA) had proposed the tournament be held from late April to May.
“We believe it is the best option,” ECA president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of Bayern Munich, said last week.
The World Cup being played in April and May would mean less disruption to domestic seasons than it taking place in November and December. However, some leagues would then have to stage domestic cup finals in June.
And Valcke pointed out the month-long period of Ramadan would begin April 2, 2022, which could have an impact on the preparation of some players.
The EPFL body, representing the European football leagues, proposed a May-June tournament, only slightly earlier than the usual slot of June-July.
A January-February timeframe for the competition could be problematic due to a potential clash with the 2022 Winter Olympics which are traditionally held in February.
Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi insisted that his country could deliver a summer World Cup, as promised in its winning bid, if desired, but that a winter solution was preferred.
“The objective of today’s meeting was to receive feedback from all parties and to work on narrowing the options,” said Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, who chaired the meeting.
“We are pleased with the level of detail provided by the participants and with the productive discussions that took place today.
“We now have a greater understanding of where each of the stakeholders is coming from and we will carefully consider these opinions as we move forward towards defining the international match calendar.”
The next meeting discussing the dates of the 2022 World Cup will be in early 2015.
There are no comments.
SPORT Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
TECHNOLOGY Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
CULTURE Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
ARABIA The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
ARABIA Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
ARABIA The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
ECONOMY Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.
