IOC supports November/December World Cup in Qatar
Xinhua, March 1, 2015 Adjust font size:
The International Olympic Committee expressed their support on Saturday of moving the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to November and December, avoiding any clash with that year's Winter Olympic Games.
A FIFA taskforce recommended playing the 2022 World Cup in winter instedad of summer to avoid temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius in Qatar, which could affect the health of players and fans.
IOC president Bach said he saw the decision as "logical".
"It is a logical decision in the interest of the World Cup and the Olympic Games," said Bach, who repeated his view made in December it would not make sense to have a World Cup in January-February as that would cause a potential clash.
"It would result in a no-win situation as both events could lose attention from fans and broadcasters alike," Bach said, having also earlier maintained that a Winter Games has little breathing space on dates owing to weather conditions.
Moving the tournament to November and December will affect the league matches of European clubs, and some powerful European clubs are asking for compensation from FIFA.
The final decision about the exact date of 2022 will be made by FIFA on March 19/20, 2015. Endi