By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
May 22 – German football supremo Christian Seifert today added his voice to the clamour against the 2022 World Cup taking place in Qatar’s scorching summer heat – but warned that switching it to winter could end up in the courts.
In London ahead of Saturday’s all-German Champions League final at Wembley, Seifert, chief executive officer of the Bundesliga and one of the most influential figures in European football, became the latest figure to question whether moving the tournament to November and December would be permitted under existing World Cup terms, although FIFA’s general secretary Jerome Valcke has already indicated that a change would likely be permissible within the contracts.
Although none of the four countries trounced by Qatar in the December 2010 ballot – the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia – have publicly stated that they would call for a revote if the tournament was switched to winter (they all tendered for a summer World Cup), Seifert said they may not be the only ones to consider such action. Individual leagues, he said, may also come up with a legal case if they are forced to alter their traditional autumn-to-spring calendars.
Seifert told a briefing in London attended by InsideWorldFootball: “I am absolutely convinced that it is hard, if not impossible, to play a World Cup in the summer in Qatar. Summer in Qatar is not the right time to play.
“Maybe you can create an artificial second sky (for the matches) over the whole country or over the stadia but what does that mean for the fans who are there? This is not what I had in mind for a World Cup growing up as a kid.
“But the crucial point is this: can they move to the winter without making a re-run again? I am not sure legally if you can just say: ‘We will just play in winter’. As far as I understand, it was an invitation to tender. Is it possible, I wonder, to switch from summer to winter based on a decision that was made with summer in mind? I am absolutely sure if countries like England (Premier League) see a chance of a re-vote, they will force a re-vote.
“From other leagues I do have the feeling they are also very upset with the situation – that the decision was done and that a four-week tournament affects not just one season but maybe three years of running of professional football leagues in Europe.”
Seifert criticised FIFA for choosing Qatar in the first place, and welcomed the ongoing debate about the heat, fuelled by UEFA President Michel Platini. “We are really happy that FIFA recognises it’s warm in the summer in Qatar,” he said, tongue in check. “This is a great, great finding. I doubt if that could work with 48 degrees on the street. At some point you have to leave the stadium.”
“It shows me which FIFA, as a body which says what’s good for the game, ignores completely the day-by-day basis in those leagues who are effectively the core and the heart of football. The main problem concerns the health of the players.”
England’s Premier League still favours a summer tournament for fear of its lucrative commercial partnerships being disrupted but Seifert said accommodating a winter World Cup was preferable over endangering players’ health.
“As I have said, the priority is always first the health of the players and this is what makes me most upset: that a decision was done that ignores probably the health of the players – and that ignores, in turn, what people are really watching. They are not watching FIFA or Qatar – they are watching national teams with great players.
“If you make a decision that is so far away from a sports perspective, if it ends being merely a sports politics decision, this is not good for the game. I’m not sure of the credibility of FIFA. Maybe first they should change the claim “For the Good of the Game” – because this is not for the good of the game.”
Seifert’s comments came two days before the UEFA Congress in London and while 2022 is not on the agenda, the debate will not be far from delegates’ lips. Although he has admitted voting for Qatar, only after the award did Platini start campaigning for a winter tournament, perhaps aware that if he is FIFA president by then, it will be his responsibility to make sure players and fans don’t suffer.
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