FIFA shows little enthusiasm for April/ May World Cup in 2022

ZURICH: FIFA showed little enthusiasm toward a proposal to stage the 2022 World Cup in April and May, saying on Monday that January/ February or November/December remained the most likely options for the tournament in Qatar.

Soccer’s governing body said there were medical concerns at holding the competition during any period between May and September while Ramadan would affect preparations if the tournament were to be held in May.

“We are getting closer to narrowing the dates.....to two options — January/February 2022 or November/December 2022 — but FIFA has also been asked to consider May 2022,” said FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke following a meeting of the task force set up to determine when the tournament should be held.

The world players’ union FIFPro also opposed a summer World Cup, saying that “we must avoid the hottest months at all costs, irrespective of what was suggested during the bidding procedure.”

Qatar were ranked bottom of the nations bidding to stage the World Cup by FIFA’s own technical study group before the vote was taken in December 2010.

However, Qatar saw off rival bids from the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea to become the first Arab state to stage the tournament.

The award of the World Cup to the tiny Middle-East emirate has been the subject of an investigation by New York attorney Michael Garcia over the last 18 months, set up to establish whether any corruption was involved in the decision taken by the FIFA executive committee.

Garcia’s findings are now being studied by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, the head of FIFA’s independent adjudicatory chamber, who is expected to issue his initial report later this month.

The European Clubs’ Association, seeking as little disruption to the traditional European calendar as possible, suggested last week that April/May would cause less disruption to the club season and that temperatures during that period would not be hotter than at some previous World Cups provided matches were played in the evening.

Meantime, Airline Emirates said on Monday it was ending its sponsorship of FIFA, a blow to soccer’s governing body as it investigates whether there was corruption in the bidding process for the next two World Cups.

“Emirates can confirm that a decision has been made not to renew the sponsorship agreement with FIFA past 2014,” the Dubai-based airline said in a statement on Monday.

“This decision was made following an evaluation of FIFA’s contract proposal which did not meet Emirates’ expectations.”

FIFA had no immediate comment.