November 25 – FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne says FIFA should consider moving the 2022 Qatar World Cup closer back to the tournament’s traditional summer slot.
Champagne says too many leagues will be disrupted by the unprecedented mid-winter scheduling and recommends playing in May – as did Europe’s clubs whose proposal was ultimately thrown out.
“I know that we can have 9pm or 11pm kick offs in early May,” said Champagne. “If you play a match in Doha in early May at 9pm the weather conditions would be better than the USA 94 World Cup final in Pasadena or the final of men’s tournament at Beijing Olympics in 2008.”
With an investigation still ongoing into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process, Champagne is anxious not to pre-empt any decision.
“I have to respect the decision that has been taken (to take the World Cup to Qatar),” he told the BBC. “But we have six more years to look at that. I don’t have access to all the intricacies over this decision that I’m respecting. I’m just saying that this issue is still a problem as a lot of leagues around the world will be disrupted, not only in Europe.
“Let me be clear, I respect the decision but I regret the fact that the proposal by the ECA (European Club Association) and EPFL (European Professional Football Leagues) for a May/June tournament in Qatar was discarded a little too quickly.”
Champagne hinted that if he wins the election on February 26, he might consider switching the Qatar dates.
“For the moment the decision [to move to November / December] stands. But I think this election will be a good opportunity to look into what has been done correctly. A lot of things have to be discussed. If elected, I will approach that with the spirit of friendship with the Qataris…”
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