The move has long been expected but will have a huge impact on the sport’s calendar, with many domestic competitions around the world including the Premier League forced to move to accommodate the event.
“The dates for the World Cup [in Qatar] will not be June-July,” Valcke told Radio France. “To be honest, I think it will be held between November 15 and January 15 at the latest.”
There have been calls for the tournament to be moved over fears about the health and safety of players and fans in the searing summer heat. Temperatures in Qatar can top 50C (122F).
“If you play between November 15 and the end of December that’s the time when the weather conditions are best, when you can play in temperatures equivalent to a warm spring season in Europe, averaging 25C (77F),” Valcke said. “That would be perfect for playing football.”
The announcement appears to be slightly premature as any rescheduling would have to be ratified by members of Fifa’s highly influential executive committee (ExCo), although there seems little doubt which way the land lies. A final decision seems unlikely before this summer’s World Cup in B razil and the views of all concerned parties – players, clubs, leagues, federations and sponsors – are being sought.
Jim Boyce, Britain’s Fifa vice-president, said that he was “totally surprised” by Valcke’s comments. He confirmed that the decision has to be taken by the ExCo, adding that “no final decision will be made on when the 2022 World Cup would be played until December 2014 or March 2015”.
Fifa stressed that Valcke had merely stated his own views on the 2022 World Cup, adding that “the precise event date is still subject to an ongoing consultation process”.
The world governing body added: “As the event will not be played until eight years’ time the consultation process will not be rushed and will be given the necessary time to consider all of the elements relevant for a decision. Consequently, no decision will be taken before the upcoming 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil as agreed by the Fifa executive committee.”
Fifa’s stance has changed markedly in recent months with Sepp Blatter, the president, stating at the end of August that he thought that the ExCo would vote against a summer tournament with several ExCo members having already proposed that the 2022 finals be moved to the winter in an attempt to alleviate concerns about the heat in the Gulf.
Organisers of Qatar 2022 had moved to cool the heated debate over conditions by promising air-conditioned stadiums, which they said would be part of their legacy, but added that they would be ready to stage the tournament during the winter. “If the football world or Fifa want it to be staged in the winter then we are happy and ready. If they want it in summer, then we are still ready,” Hassan Al-Thawadi, the secretary general of the Qatar 2022 organising committee, said last month.
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