By Andrew Warshaw
December 22 – The prospect of the first ever winter World Cup being staged in 2022 has been taken a significant step forward by FIFA – much to the annoyance of Europe’s clubs and leagues.
Buried in the FIFA media release that followed last week’s executive committee meeting in Morocco was the revelation that the next session of the Task Force appointed to recommend the best time for Qatar to host the 2022 tournament will take place not at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland but in the Qatari capital of Doha.
This is being widely interpreted as a deliberate move by FIFA to assess weather and playing conditions in the Gulf at that time of year before a final decision on exact dates is made – likely to happen in March.
A FIFA spokesman confirmed that the reason Doha had been chosen for the February 23 session was so “they can meet on-site and gain first-hand experience”.
The FIFA-appointed Task Force that has spent what seems like an eternity looking into the best possible solution for avoiding the searing Gulf summer heat already announced that a winter World Cup is the most viable option, either in November-December or January-February.
But that prompted an immediate response from Europe’s clubs and leagues who have now devised a last-ditch strategy for keeping the tournament close to its traditional summer time slot in order to avoid the disruption that a winter tournament would cause to much of the global playing calendar.
The European Club Association (ECA) and the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) want FIFA to at least consider late May and early June but it is understood FIFA were reluctant to put the detailed proposal to the February 23 Task Force meeting before reluctantly agreeing to do so.
That has only fuelled the likelihood of a winter tournament but the view within the ECA is that they had to at least make a stand and ensure their views are heard by all stakeholders when they gather for what is likely to be a decisive session in Doha.
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