By Andrew Warshaw at the Leaders in Football Conference at Stamford Bridge in London
October 11 – The controversy over whether to switch the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar to the winter to avoid the searing June-July desert temperatures was reignited today – this time by one of Qatar’s very own ambassadors.
Former Dutch World Cup star Ronald de Boer (pictured top), who was a member of Qatar’s campaign team and ended his career in the tiny Gulf state, said he favoured a winter tournament – even though nothing was said at the time Qatar was bidding.
“Maybe it’s great to have it in the winter, have everybody fit – mentally fit, physically fit,” De Boer said here.
Qatar achieved its landslide victory in December 2010, but officials have since been coy to embrace calls to play the tournament in winter.
Yet De Boer made no secret of supporting such a move pledging it would not unduly affect scheduling in Europe.
“We want always the best players in the best possible way,” he explained.
“We want to see them in the best form.
“Sometimes, a change is good and let’s see what it does to the world of football.
“I think it’s also beneficial for the tournament itself if it’s in the winter.
“Football is for the fans – it would be great if it’s in the winter.”
On the same panel, Nasser Al Khater (pictured top), Qatar 2022’s communications and marketing director, said for the time being no changes could be made to the schedule.
“When we bid, we bid to host it in summer and until the football authorities ask us to move it, that’s when it will go ahead,” he told delegates.
But De Boer, who still works for the Qatari Football Association as a technical advisor, appeared to take a more direct stance, supporting UEFA President Michel Platini who has long called for the 2022 World Cup to be staged in the winter months.
De Boer later told reporters: “We went for the summer of course, but you have a lot of people doubting that and you look for other possibilities.
“I think it’s great what Platini said, it’s the first step.
“I think all the bodies should come together to find a common solution and try also to change.
“It’s very easy to stick with the old thing because we’ve done it already for years.”
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