What We're Reading
Blatter discusses the calendar, again
- Reuters, Tuesday, January 25, 2011 11:43 AM
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has spoken out again on the possibility of a shifting the 2022 World Cup to the winter months, which he points out could be at the end of a year as
well as the start of it.
That could apparently mean a World Cup staged in December, as opposed to January or February. It's hard to conceive of a World Cup conflicting with the Winter
Olympics, but that's what would happen to a World Cup staged by Qatar in late January/early February of 2022, and it's something the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA are quite aware
of.
“For FIFA, if there’s the will to change something for the international calendar for one year, it’s possible to do, because if there’s a will, there’s
also a solution,” said Blatter. “But for now, there are the pros and cons but it is premature to make any decisions on what may happen but all I am saying is that winter is not only
January and February, winter is also the end of the year.”
Qatari soccer officials, including Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed Bin Hammmam, oppose a
winter World Cup. They cited air-cooled stadiums and fan viewing areas as means to combat the stifling summer heat.
