By Andrew Warshaw
June 9 – The UEFA hierarchy has once again caused a potential stir with Europe’s major leagues by endorsing the idea of winter World Cups – and not just in Qatar.
UEFA president Michel Platini has long supported switching the 2022 tournament to the winter but now his number two, general secretary Gianni Infantino, has followed that line saying June and July should not necessarily be sacrosanct.
Infantino suggested in The Times newspaper that all World Cups should be played in the most suitable weather conditions in the host country.
That, ironically, is close to what FIFA approved at their recent Congress in Mauritius when, in changing the statutes to allow for the full membership to select host World Cup nations in the future, football’s world governing body said venues should be chosen according to “the best possible hosting conditions” rather than their particular geographical location.
All Europe’s major leagues would have to revamp their schedules for November and December to accommodate a winter World Cup in 2022. But Infantino says it shouldn’t just be about Qatar.
“Whenever you play the World Cup should be the best period for it,” he said. “I had the same reflections on South Africa in 2010. Four years earlier in Germany it was nice sunshine. South Africa is a beautiful country, but at five o’clock, it’s night and it’s 0C. It’s not a celebration of football.”
Conversely, Infantino said he did not understand why football had been historically played in winter. “You see people in stadiums with hats and scarves,” he said. “Why did England, who brought to us this beautiful game, decide that football is for the winter and not for the summer? Cricket.
“The month of June, which is the most beautiful month to play football, is hardly ever used except for the Euros and the World Cup. But the World Cup is played only every 12 years, more or less, in Europe.
“I fully share this view that you have to play in the best period for football; that is not June or July in Qatar. This is an issue that FIFA has to sort out. The sooner they do it, the better. The decision for 2022 was taken in 2010, so in 12 years you can organise yourself.”
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