KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Winter World Cup.

Where will thw world cup be played if Qatar has gone?

Australia

I hope so, what a missed opportunity that was from FIFA. I think a world cup I Australia would be great.

Are you hoping that Qatar will be absorbed by Lebanon or what?

Qatar are in danger of having the 2022 World Cup snatched from them as a result of a four-pronged attack on their right to stage the tournament.
Pressure from Europe’s football elite — including the Premier League — as well as the concerns of powerful American TV interests, Qatar’s beaten rival bidders for 2022 and anti-corruption investigators could scupper the project to stage the world’s biggest football tournament in the small but oil-rich desert state.
It is virtually certain that football’s world governing body, FIFA, will announce early next month that the 2022 tournament cannot be staged in Qatar in the summer — as originally envisaged when the World Cup was awarded to the emirate three years ago — because of the dangerously high temperatures, which can reach 40 degrees centigrade.
FIFA will propose switching the tournament to winter, but American TV giant Fox have told The Mail on Sunday that they agreed to pay £630billion for the rights to screen the World Cup in the summers of 2018 and 2022, not in winter. Industry sources say it is ‘unimaginable’ that they will accept a switch, not at that price.
The Mail on Sunday has also learned that, contrary to the public claim of FIFA president Sepp Blatter last week that bidders for 2022 agreed only ‘in principle’ to a summer event, the words ‘in principle’ did not appear in tender or bidding documents.

Ambitious plans: The proposed Al-Gharafa stadium to be built in Qatar in 2022
Four reasons for a desert storm
1. Europe’s top leagues fear switching the World Cup from summer to winter would be so disruptive they might boycott it.
2. American TV giants Fox and NBC could pull the plug on billion-dollar deals if the tournament is staged in winter rather than their preferred summer.
3. Other nations — Australia, the United States, Japan and Korea — spent millions bidding for a summer tournament and may take legal action if that changes.
4. Investigations, led by US lawyer Michael Garcia, into allegations of corruption and broken bidding rules are ongoing. Any finding against Qatar would spell the end of their dream.
This bombshell revelation highlights the enormous legal complexities ahead. Legally and contractually, Qatar are obliged to stage a summer event that most agree they cannot now stage. But they have no legal or contractual right to stage a winter World Cup in 2022.
Although the head of Qatar’s bid, Hassan al-Thawadi, has been bullish in recent days that there is ‘no reason’ why his Middle Eastern nation — roughly the size of Yorkshire — cannot host the tournament, one source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘This is far from over. Qatar won’t be keeping 2022 without a struggle.’
The 2022 World Cup, lest we forget, is a tournament the FA’s new chairman, Greg Dyke, has set as a target for England to win. Goalkeeper Jack Butland, who will be 29, could be a fixture between the England posts by then, playing alongside other stars such as Phil Jones, (then 30), Luke Shaw (27), Jack Wilshere (30), Ross Barkley (28), Raheem Sterling (27) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (29).

Change it up: FIFA President Sepp Blatter, here with Vladimir Putin, has backed the World Cup move to winter
Dyke’s target always looked unlikely for a tournament expected to be played in inhospitable conditions, even with Qatar’s much-vaunted plan to build air-conditioned stadia capable of dealing with high heat and humidity.
A switch to winter might suit England’s national interests, but senior administrative figures within Europe’s major leagues are talking privately about the impossibility of a winter World Cup and are lobbying hard against it. Some are even suggesting a boycott.
If a winter event is ruled out and summer has been established as too hot for Qatar, then a change of venue would be the only option.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has told FIFA that he will not support a move to winter, while Dyke insists Qatar cannot host in summer. Their combined position, essentially, is that Qatar cannot stage the 2022 World Cup.

High expectations: In Greg Dyke's speech last week he said the World Cup couldn't be held in the summer - he also said he want England to win in Qatar
The major European leagues’ umbrella body, the EPFL, made it clear last week that an extensive consultation process must take place before FIFA’s Executive Committee rubber-stamps any winter move.
'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,’ said a statement.
The EPFL outlined how a switch to winter is far from simple, disrupting not just Europe’s domestic leagues but other major international sports events such as the Winter Olympics, FIFA tournaments including the Confederations Cup, UEFA tournaments including the Champions League and even impact on the global transfer and contract systems.
The EPFL’s public tone is amicable for now, ‘kindly requesting’ that FIFA do not make definitive decisions on a winter switch at FIFA’s next executive committee meeting on October 3-4.

Perks: The Qatar national team will receive a bye into the World Cup if they host it
But key figures from leagues of all sizes are increasingly indignant. ‘Clearing an eight-week winter window is a nightmare,’ said one. ‘That won’t be in January or February because even FIFA won’t go up against the IOC and clash with the Winter Olympics. So even theoretically you’d be looking at mid-October to mid-December. That cannot happen in 2021, it’s just impossible logistically to fit qualifying in between Euro 2020 and then.

No chance! Chief Executive of the Premier League Richard Scudamore has denounced any idea of moving the World Cup to the winter and affecting the Premier League schedule
‘And if you think the back end of 2022 is easier, try working out how much disruption that causes in the three or more years afterwards.’
One influential FIFA executive who has gone public with a plea for a detailed assessment of a winter switch before any vote is Sunil Gulati, the president of the US Soccer Federation and a new FIFA executive committee member.
He says: ‘I don’t see at this stage, frankly, how I or any member of FIFA’s executive committee could make a sensible decision [on a winter switch without a detailed impact assessment]’ ... we don’t have enough information and there are too many questions.’
Gulati wants detailed answers about how a winter switch would affect participants, leagues around the world and even FIFA finances if TV contracts have to be ripped up, potentially costing FIFA lost revenues in the billions.
Fox Sports, together with Telemundo (a subsidiary of the mighty NBC), bid £630 ($1billion) for summer World Cups in 2018 and 2022. A Fox spokesman says: ‘Fox Sports bought the World Cup rights with the understanding they would be in the summer as they have been since the 1930s.’
Fox would not comment on potential legal action if the 2022 event moves to winter, but a network insider says the broadcaster ‘will not countenance’ a World Cup being given prominence on US TV between October and December.
America’s primary ‘sports property’, NFL football, is screened on Sundays in that time and the hugely popular college football is screened on Saturdays.

Awkward: The Premier League teams themselves may not back a move to the winter if it means they lose out on substantial revenue, for instance from European competitions
Asked about TV contract problems and EPFL opposition to a winter switch, a FIFA spokeswoman said: ‘The matter of the timing of the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be discussed in various ad hoc committees as well as the FIFA Executive Committee at the occasion of its next session on 3-4 October in Zurich and until these meetings have taken place FIFA is in no position to make any further comments.’
If the World Cup of 2022 is moved to winter in Qatar, FIFA face possible legal action from other 2022 bidders who lost out, having bid specifically for a summer event. Those rivals were the United States, Australia, Korea and Japan. It is understood the Australians are most likely to sue, with the Americans keeping a ‘watching brief’.
Blatter appeared to attempt to claim last week that FIFA had the latitude to move the event at will, saying 2022 bids were made for a summer event ‘in principle’.

Worth it? American TV bosses would have to try and fit a winter World Cup around the NFL
But The Mail on Sunday has established that key paragraphs in the relevant documents never included that phrase, specifying a June or July 2022 World Cup, after a Confederations Cup in June 2021.
A FIFA spokeswoman: ‘The president made this [‘in principle’] comment in an interview situation. His statement was certainly not meant to be a legal explanation.’
Former US attorney for New York, Michael Garcia, is still investigating whether there was any corruption in the 2022 process. ‘He’s not finished yet,’ said a source. ‘There’s no firm conclusion either way.’
Any hard proof that Qatar broke the bidding rules, including colluding over vote swaps, could on its own see them lose the 2022 showpiece.

More...
Premier League clubs back FA plans to develop homegrown talent as Dyke chases 2022 World Cup win
European big guns agree that 2022 World Cup in Qatar would be 'better in winter' as FIFA boss Blatter closes in on date change
EXCLUSIVE: Lineker ready to stand up and be counted and join the Dyke revolution to help save English football
CHARLES SALE: Green may be an unwanted man at the BBC... while England friendlies and FA Cup replays are sure to be under threat for 2022

FIFA's medical chief says the 2022 World Cup in Qatar should be moved from summer to winter.

Michel D'Hooghe, chairman of FIFA 's medical committee, says he will advise next month's crucial executive committee meeting that putting the tournament on during the Middle East summer poses a risk to the health of supporters, as well as players.

The committee is now expected to agree in principle to move the World Cup to the winter, most likely in November/December 2022.

The European leagues and the US representative want to delay the decision so they can analyse the impact on their competitions.

D'Hooghe said: "My position is very clear. From the medical point of view I think it will be better not to play during the hot summer months.

"I am sure the Qataris could organise it when they have such technical skill, and I know they could play and train in a stable, acceptable temperature.

"But the World Cup is more than about games and players - I have done eight World Cups so I know a bit about it.

"A World Cup is about the 32 delegations, it's about the whole FIFA family and the 12,000-15,000 media working very hard, and most importantly it's about the fans.

"They will need to travel from venue to venue and I think it's not a good idea for them to do that in temperatures of 47 degrees or more."

D'Hooghe believes the European leagues have plenty of time to resolve the problems that a winter World Cup would cause them.

He said: "It's a technical question - I'm a medical man. I think we have nine years to sort it out.

"I respect the difficulties that there may be with some championships. I just have to give the medical advice and for the rest it would be a good thing to get everyone around the table to find a solution."

Sunil Gulati, who was the head of the USA 2022 bid that was defeated by Qatar in the vote three years ago, believes they need more information before taking a decision.

He told the New York Times: "I don't see at this stage, frankly, how I or any member of FIFA's executive committee could make a sensible decision.

"We don't have enough information, and there are too many questions. I don't see how anybody in a position of responsibility can take a position without some answers.

"If the position I'm taking - which is that we need a lot more information - is rocking the boat," he said, "then I'm going to be rocking the boat."

FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce has confirmed European countries have given their overall backing to moving the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to the winter.

Boyce revealed the 54 UEFA associations, who have been meeting in Croatia, want FIFA to consult much further with the game's major stakeholders before making their decision about an exact date for the controversial tournament.

The world governing body meets in Zurich early next month when a decision is expected to be made in principle to moving the competition away from the summer months, when the heat in Qatar can reach more than 50 degrees centigrade.

"There were certain reservations regarding the World Cup in Qatar but everyone agreed that it would be impossible to play in the severe heat of Qatar in the summer," Boyce said.

"What the member associations want to see at the FIFA ExCo in October is that a task force is set up for everyone involved in Qatar to sit around the table and come up with the best solution with the minimum disruption.

"They all agreed to take thousands of fans to the greatest sporting event in the world in the middle of the summer would be just impossible.

"It's very important we get this right, it's very important that everyone involved has a meeting, the people with their concerns as well but it is most important is that we have a World Cup where spectators can go and enjoy themselves.

"At the end of the day, the best interests of football have to be sorted out and I am very confident that will be done. It's purely a one-off.

"It's wrong to speculate at the moment when this is going to be played. The stakeholders need to sit down and come up with the best solution. Many leagues in Europe have a break but my own preference would be for the end of January and early February. Hopefully FIFA will come up with the right solution."

Player safety

FIFA is believed to prefer a November/December tournament so that it does not clash with the Winter Olympics, whose host city will not be decided until 2015, but that would add an effect on the Champions League to domestic issues, which could be felt most in the United Kingdom.

Just moving the tournament away from the summer is the major issue for FIFPro, the worldwide body that represents professional players.

A statement read: "For FIFPro, protecting the health and safety of professional footballers is of paramount importance and must drive decision making at all levels of football.

"FIFPro is well aware of the particular threat of playing professional football in extreme heat. Medical and scientific experts are clear that playing in such conditions is hazardous and requires sporting organisations to have strong and proactive policies that ensure players are not subjected to any unreasonable risk to their health and safety.

"Professional footballers are workers in the eyes of the law. Accordingly, football authorities, including FIFA, the confederations, the clubs and the member associations are legally obliged to provide a safe working environment and cannot subject this obligation to other business considerations.

"The whole issue of the international match calendar is a matter for separate debate. FIFPro looks forward to participating in detailed consultation and deliberation of all stakeholders before any radical change is made."

I reckon every world cup should be in winter,we would stand a better chance of winning it.

its going to be a mess.

This story could still have a few twists and turns in it. It's being reported that the international olympic comittee is very unhappy and about the situation and are threatening to throw football out the olympics as well as warning FiFa that the world ćup must not clash with that years olympic games.