By Andrew Warshaw
September 10 – Europe’s clubs are still to be convinced that a switch to a winter World Cup in 2022 is a fait accompli. The clubs say they want “strong, decisive” reasons before accepting a decision to move the Qatar tournament from its usual summer slot.
At a news conference following their annual assembly in Geneva, The European Clubs’ Association (ECA) contradicted FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s view that a summer tournament had been ruled out, making the point that cooling technology had been an integral part of Qatar’s successful bid to host the competition.
“It would be very, very important to have strong arguments to convince the European game to disrupt its season in favour of a World Cup in another part of the year,” ECA vice chairman Umberto Gandini (pictured), whose organisation represents about 200 clubs, told reporters.
“There must be very, very good reasons for moving the World Cup from its conventional slot because it will jeopardise the entire game worldwide.”
Gandini represented the ECA at Monday’s FIFA Task Force meeting looking in to a possible change of date in order to avoid playing in the heat of a desert summer. Two different winter dates are still on the agenda – Nov/Dec and Jan/Feb – but the AC Milan director said: “We would not be part of something which is not credible.”
Gandini said Monday’s Task Force meeting had indicated a decision on choosing dates was expected some time between March and June next year. And he urged FIFA to consider the majority of players and leagues which are not represented at the World Cup and could be required to stop playing midseason.
“What is going to happen to football in the world if we move the World Cup from its natural slot?” he asked.
Meanwhile the ECA said it was pushing UEFA to give more than $30 million collected from Financial Fair Play fines back to clubs who abided by the rules.
Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Zenit St. Petersburg were among nine clubs sanctioned for overspending and ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said the group gave UEFA’s executive committee a proposal for sharing the money among clubs playing in last season’s Champions League and Europa League, excluding of course the transgressors.
The ECA says more than 70 group-stage clubs would each get about €265,000 ($341,000). The remaining 20%, €4.4 million euros ($5.7 million), would be spread among clubs eliminated in qualifying rounds.
The first tranche of payments from City, Paris Saint-Germain and Zenit St Petersburg will total £20 million and will be split among the Champions League and Europa League clubs who complied with the regulations.
“It was an agreement between UEFA and the clubs that it was money belonging to the clubs,” Rummenigge told reporters.
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