The FIFA task force responsible for picking the dates of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have provisionally proposed it should run from November 26 to December 23 - sparking fury from the Premier League.
While it was long anticipated that the task force would recommend a November-December tournament - the specific dates still have to be ratified by FIFA’s executive committee (ExCo) next month - official confirmation of the general plan is already causing shock and anger.
Premier League chief Richard Scudamore, part of the task force, expressed his anger and disappointment at the decision.
'Yeah, very disappointed that`s the word, I think, on behalf of the all the European leagues and particularly the European clubs who provide most of the players for this World Cup,' he said after the meeting in Doha on Tuesday.
‘The idea that we turned up (on Monday), it was a pretty short meeting, to be told that it is going to happen in November and December is very disappointing.
‘We had a consistent position all along and for the integrity of the Football League to have to stop for six or seven weeks is less than ideal.’
Scudamore claimed others were able to protect their competitions, while Europe's leagues had to give up space in their calendar and nobody else is ‘giving much up’.
He said: ‘FIFA keep their international dates, they keep their World Cup intact, even UEFA, who, I think, let us down a little bit, clearly pushed this ... so their Champions League can start and carry on again, just like it always does.’
Scudamore also claimed that there was little discussion during the meeting. ‘We were pretty much told, hence the disappointment,’ he added
Karl-Heinz Rummenige, chief executive of Bayern Munich and chair of the European Club Association, has also suggested that top European clubs could demand compensation over the disruption to their seasons.
Meanwhile, FA chairman Greg Dyke said a November/December tournament was 'the best of the bad options', but warned of the disruption it would cause to domestic football.
'It will clearly disrupt the whole football calendar as it means club football stopping at the end of October,' he said.
'You might be able to keep the disruption to one season if you start earlier and end later but it's going to be tough - and unnecessary because we would not be doing this if FIFA had done their work properly.'
'This is something FIFA brought on itself by not reading the report of the safety inspector. It tells you the technical assessment was not being used as the basis for the decision.'
Asked about the final being held as late as December 23, Dyke added: 'We will have to wait to hear the detail but we will try to protect all the traditional Christmas dates.
'We were of the view that November/December would be better than January/February - but that wouldn't be the case for some European countries who have a winter break in January.'
The awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar has been dogged by controversy ever since FIFA’s ExCo made that decision in December 2010.
Allegations of widespread collusion and corruption overshadowed the process from the beginning. Multiple ExCo members from 2010 have since left surrounded by allegations of corruption. A report by investigator Michael Garcia remains secret, unpublished and subject to dispute between its author and FIFA.
The tournament was never intended to be played any time other than summer 2022. And yet Qatar remain on course - extraordinarily - to stage the event, albeit in winter.
The task force was convened after it became apparent that dangerous summer temperatures in Qatar in summer 2022 would make it unsafe for the players - and fans.
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, who is the head of the Asian Football Confederation and head of the task force confirmed on Tuesday that November-December 2022 has now been recommended as the ideal time for the event.
He says all options will be reviewed by the task force recommendation which is expected to be ratified by the ExCo.
‘Some people have concerns, but whatever decision you're going to take will have some questions about it,’ Sheikh Salman said. ‘But we need to look at the overall benefit of everybody.’
The tournament will be shorter than usual by a few days but will remain the same size as currently, with 32 nations playing 64 matches.
The decision is sure to cause a huge furore, not least as the major leagues of Europe, who provide the majority of players to any World Cup finals, voice their opposition to a schedule that will smash a hole in the middle of their domestic calendar for the 2022-23 season, and disrupt seasons either side.
A World Cup in January and February 2022 was ruled out to avoid a clash with the Winter Olympics.
The European Clubs’ Association of the major sides in Europe wanted a May-June tournament but that has been rejected for reasons unconfirmed. The Premier League remain opposed to a winter World Cup with a spokesman saying: ‘The 2022 World Cup was bid for and awarded to Qatar as a summer tournament. The prospect of a winter World Cup is neither workable nor desirable for European domestic football.’
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