2022 Qatar World Cup Set For Summer: Blatter
Monday, 7th February 2011 at 09:04am
As the fallout of the decision made by the Fifa Executive Committee (ExCo) to stage the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar continues to grow, Fifa President Sepp Blatter has given the clearest indication yet that the finals will be staged in summer as originally planned.
Following concerns raised by former players Franz Beckenbauer and Michel Platini about playing matches in a country where temperatures can soar to more than 50 degrees Celsius, a bid to move the finals to January or February was mooted only to be met with widespread disapproval from football associations around the world.
Blatter told BBC Sport: "I think for the time being the matter is on ice. Everything is settled for summer."
The Fifa supremo revealed that a delegation from the tiny Gulf nation had visited Fifa headquarters in Zurich and had reiterated their commitment to hosting the finals in the summer as was their intention when they submitted their bid.
"Everything is settled now for summer and all the 64 matches will be played in the territory of Qatar," said Blatter.
It had been suggested that some of the finals matches might be played in neighbouring countries to ease the burden on Qatar.
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