Many in the soccer world feel that playing the World Cup in the summer in Qatar in 2022 is a big mistake due to high temperatures and while Jerome Valcke hinted that the dates could be moved, FIFA struck back to quell notions about that and said there are no set decisions yet on whether the event will be moved or not eight years from now.
According to ESPN.com, FIFA said that what Valcke stated was his own opinion and not the official word of the organization. This came after quotes from Valcke saying that the World Cup will "not" be in June or July, but that it would be moved into the winter months in November and December. The move would be controversial for many reasons, including shedding light on the fact that Qatar likely swayed the vote in the first place and that playing soccer matches in near 100 degree weather is a terrible idea. FIFA has remained adamant about having Qatar have the event and this now adds some more intrigue to things.
The games were awarded to the nation in 2010 and now more questions will be asked about the safety of players at the event die to the extreme heat in the summer. FIFA said that only the Executive Committee and other higher ups can decide to move the date and no decision has been made yet. Other issues include the world football calendar, which is busy during the winter months.
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Here is more on the World Cup from Qatar and news about the possibility of moving the dates from Reuters.com: An announcement from FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar would not be played in the summer created yet more controversy around the finals on Wednesday.
It led to a shocked response from FIFA vice president Jim Boyce who said that only the world governing body's executive committee could decide when the World Cup would be played.
In a later statement, FIFA backtracked on Valcke's comments which came in an interview with radio station France Inter.
Valcke said: "The dates of the World Cup will not be in June or July. I think it will be played between November 15 and January 15 at the latest.
"If you play between November 15 and, let's say, the end of December, it's the time when the weather is the most favorable.
"You play with a temperature equivalent to that of a rather hot spring in Europe, you play with a temperature of 25 degrees (Celsius), which is perfect to play football," he added.
The average temperature in the summer months in Qatar can be around 35C (95 Fahrenheit) and 45C (113F).
In a subsequent statement FIFA appeared to backtrack saying Valcke was giving "his view" that the 2022 World Cup must take place in winter and the best time would be November 15 to January 15.
The FIFA statement added: "The precise event date is still subject to an ongoing consultation process which involves all main event stakeholders, including both the international football community (FIFA, confederations, member associations, leagues, clubs, players) as well as FIFA's commercial partners (Commercial Affiliates and Media Rights Licensees).
"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 World Cup Brazil as agreed by the FIFA Executive Committee."
FIFA delayed its decision in October saying it was setting up a consultation process to decide when to stage the finals.
At the time, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said it would reach a conclusion sometime after this year's World Cup in Brazil. Valcke's surprise announcement on Wednesday comes more than three years after Qatar was originally awarded the tournament in December 2010.
Qatar won the hosting rights ahead of Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States, eventually succeeding in the fourth round of voting by 14-8 ahead of the U.S.
Although it would not be a surprise if the finals are held in the winter months, it would mean a massive disruption to the global soccer calendar and also affect other sports.
Controversy has surrounded the decision to give Qatar the finals since the day it was made and clearly shows no signs of abating even with the tournament more than eight years away. FIFA VP Boyce of Northern Ireland told Sky Sports News he was very surprised by the timing of Valcke's announcement.
"I am totally shocked to be honest," said Boyce.
"The situation, as far as I'm aware, is that the FIFA executive committee was awaiting a report set up by all the stakeholders involved in the World Cup - television companies, leagues, sponsors - meeting between now and the World Cup in Brazil. Asked if he was surprised by the timing of the announcement, he said: "Yes and no because the decision was supposed to be made last October but it had been postponed because the clubs and the leagues had asked for a delay." (Reuters)
