By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – The FIFA-appointed Task Force set up 10 months ago to decide on the best date for the 2022 Qatar World Cup will meet for the first time on September 8.
FIFA have confirmed that a variety of stakeholders including clubs, leagues and representatives of all six confederations will attend the summit in Zurich and lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive follow-up meeting two months later.
Qatar officials will also attend as the various parties discuss whether to switch the World Cup in principle from summer to winter, an issue which has died down in recent weeks but which is bound to be rekindled at next week’s Soccerex conference in Manchester where Qatar 2022 representatives are due to speak.
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation who has been charged with heading the Task Force in conjunction with FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, has gone on record as saying no solution to the winter versus summer debate will be taken before early next year. March is the likely date for a firm decision with momentum still gathering for a move away from the fearsome heat of a Gulf summer.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has already expressed his preference for a November World Cup which would conflict with traditional scheduling but is looking the most likely alternative to the traditional June-July slot.
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