By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
January 8 – In a move that took the entire football world by surprise, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke appears to have jumped the gun by stating that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be definitely switched to winter.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has long favoured a move to November and December but promised to consult with “all the participants in the World Cup and stakeholders including players, clubs, leagues and national associations” before reaching a verdict.
That verdict is not due to be made until well after this summer’s World Cup in Brazil – and possibly as late at 2015.
But in what appeared to be an embarrassing public relations gaffe, Valcke, Blatter’s right-hand man, suggested in an interview with Radio France that the 2022 finals will be played between mid-November and mid-January. ”The dates for the World Cup (in Qatar) will not be June-July. To be honest, I think it will be held between November 15 and January 15 at the latest,” Valcke was quoted as saying.
“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.”
Ever since awarding the 2022 tournament to Qatar, debate has raged over whether to keep it in summer or switch it to a cooler time of year, a scenario also favoured by UEFA boss Michel Platini.
But Valcke’s apparent pre-emptive strike brought an immediate response from FIFA who rushed out a somewhat contradictory official statement denying any definitive decision had been reached on dates, declaring that the consultation process was still very much ongoing yet confirming Valcke’s opinion.
“FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke explained today in the Radio France interview – as he had already mentioned previously – that in his view the 2022 FIFA World Cup must take place in winter and the best possible timeframe would be 15 November to 15 January,” the statement said.
“However, the precise event date is still subject to an ongoing consultation process which involves all main event stakeholders, including both the international football community (FIFA, confederations, member associations, leagues, clubs, players) as well as FIFA’s commercial partners (Commercial Affiliates and Media Rights Licensees).
“As the event will not be played until eight years’ time the consultation process will not be rushed and will be given the necessary time to consider all of the elements relevant for a decision. Consequently, no decision will be taken before the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil as agreed by the FIFA Executive Committee.”
As FIFA attempted to limit any damage over the consultation process, Qatar’s World Cup organisers, whose original bid was for a traditional summer tournament, themselves appeared to have been caught cold by Valcke’s remarks.
A statement from the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee made it clear they had not been informed of any prospective date change at this point and were anticipating no announcement until the agreed time frame had expired.
“During the FIFA Executive Committee meeting in October it was agreed that FIFA would enter a period of consultation on the ideal time of year to host the World Cup in Qatar– with a recommendation expected after the World Cup in Brazil,” the statement said.
“We await the outcome of this consultation period. We will be ready to host the World Cup regardless of the outcome.”
FIFA’s British vice-president Jim Boyce was also taken aback. “To be honest I was shocked but I do feel it was only a personal opinion expressed by Jerome,” Boyce told Insideworldfootball. “The official position is quite clear: it was agreed that various meetings would be held during this year, that there would be no further discussions about Qatar until well after the Brazil World Cup and that the FIFA executive committee would get the findings of the Task Force either in December this year or at the latest March next year. That is still the position.”
Whilst there has been a general assumption that the 2022 World Cup cannot not be played in summer due to the oppressive heat, a position endorsed by UEFA’s 54 member nations as well as Blatter and Platini, leagues and broadcasters do not necessarily share that view while Qatar has long stated it would prepared to stage the event at any time of the year.
“As I understand it all the stakeholders have not yet been consulted,” said Boyce.
Meanwhile, the man leading the Task Force to decide exactly when to stage the tournament has launched a strong defence of the country’s credentials and accuses critics of trying to deliberately undermine the Gulf state’s hosting credentials.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, appointed by Fifa to negotiate with stakeholders, believes the debate may have been overplayed. ”I don’t think there is any controversy. I think it is a controversy that has been created by some,” Shaikh Salman told Gulf News.
“If people talk about the weather, I don’t think the weather is as bad as when we played in Mexico (1970-1986) and the United States (1994), when we all saw temperatures of 100 degrees [Fahrenheit, 38°C]. I don’t think playing at night in June would be as bad.
“If all the people agree on moving it to a different time, and all the stakeholders are in agreement, I think we are ready to host it,” said Shaikh Salman. “Whether it is in the summer, winter, spring or autumn, we have no issues with that.”
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