Fifa has narrowed down the possible dates for staging the Qatar World Cup to January/February 2022 or November/December 2022, although it has been asked to consider a third option by clubs.
The task force set up by the Fifa Executive Committee to examine the best time to stage the event in eight years’ time met in Zurich on Monday and moved closer to finding a resolution to a problem which has dominated ever since the game’s showpiece was awarded to the Middle Eastern nation.
A traditional summer World Cup has been all but disregarded due to the extreme heat and the impact it could have on supporters and players.
“We are getting closer to narrowing the dates for the FIFA World Cup to two options – January/February 2022 or November/December 2022 – but FIFA has also been asked to consider May 2022,” said Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke.
“We will summarise what we’ve heard today and provide feedback to all parties in order for them to prepare for the next meeting as we progress towards a final decision.”
The third option, to stage the World Cup in April/May 2022, was presented by The EPFL [European Professional Football Leagues] and ECA [European club Association].
Local organising committee representative Hassan Al Thawadi stated their preferred option would be to stage it in the winter. January/February 2022 could prove a contentious move, however, as it may clash with the Winter Olympics.
Fifa Executive Committee member Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “The objective of today’s meeting was to receive feedback from all parties and to work on narrowing the options.
“We are pleased with the level of detail provided by the participants and with the productive discussions that took place today. We now have a greater understanding of where each of the stakeholders is coming from and we will carefully consider these opinions as we move forward towards defining the international match calendar.”
Further consultations are expected, with the task force due to hold its next meeting in early 2015.
