Tuesday, 10th September, 2013

FIFA president Sepp Blatter's October timeframe for a decision on hosting the 2022 World Cup in the winter has been opposed by the Association of European Professional Football Leagues.

The EPFL have urged Blatter not to put "artificial deadlines" on a decision that could have huge financial and logistical ramifications for domestic football leagues in Europe.

 


2022 World Cup hosts Qatar could see the tournament hosted in the winter months, after concerns about the severe Middle East heat in the summer.

Blatter's attempts at taking the winter proposal to the FIFA executive committee have already faced some opposition, but a more formal decision was being expected at a meeting in October this year.

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However, the EPFL have voiced their opposition to the same, saying in a statement: "Any change to the international calendar must be carefully assessed through a full and proper consultation and decision making process balancing all relevant interests, including all football stakeholders and notably the EPFL.

"Such an important decision cannot be rushed with artificial deadlines as the concerned FIFA World Cup will take place in nine years.

"A medical assessment in respect of how the climatic conditions during summer in the Middle East would or would not affect players’ health and fans’ comfort shall be developed and made available, also taking into account the drawbacks of a such rescheduling."

The EPFL have also called for a study of the impact on aspects around transfer windows and player registration procedures that a shift would have.

"The EPFL is of the view that no hasty decision shall be made by the FIFA Executive Committee of October 3-4", the statement added.

The call for further consultation comes on the same day that Blatter hit out at European leagues for what he termed "imperialist views" on awarding World Cup hosting rights.

"If we automatically exclude potential hosts because of the weather, then the next step can easily be exclusion for other arbitrary and discriminatory reasons", Blatter said.

"The World Cup is FIFA's biggest, if not only, global event. Who are we, the Europeans, to demand that this event has to cater to only the needs of 800 million Europeans?"

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