By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
January 7 – The president of Qatar’s Football Association has responded to the growing debate over whether to switch the 2022 World Cup to winter.
With summer temperatures in the Gulf state soaring to over 50°C, many influential figures – not least UEFA chief Michel Platini – have called for a change to the tournament’s June-July slot.
Platini believes November and December would be the ideal time and QFA president Hamad ben Khalifa ben Ahmed Al-Thani (pictured) has not ruled this out.
“When our bid was selected by FIFA, everyone knew the World Cup was due to be played in June and July,” he told L’Equipe. “It’s true, though, that the tournament is about more than just Qatar. It’s universal. If FIFA and UEFA, notably, want to propose other dates, we have strong reasons to study that suggestion.
“For the moment, we’re going ahead with the plan that it’ll be held in the summer. We respect Michel Platini’s opinion, but it’s only an opinion as FIFA have not sent us an official request to study as yet.”
But just like his colleagues in the Qatari 2022 inner sanctum, Al-Thani issued a strong “hands off” warning when it came to the
possibility of sharing the World Cup with its neighbours.
“In the agreement we signed with FIFA, it states only one country shall host the tournament,” he said. “There’s no question of
sharing it with two or three countries. The idea of a competition spread around the Gulf is not a bad idea in itself. But I can confirm: Qatar will be the sole host of the 2022 World Cup.”
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