Europe’s top football clubs have expressed anger at how
governing body FIFA has handled the debate over whether to move the 2022 World
Cup to a winter date to avoid the summer heat in Qatar.
At the general assembly of the European Club Association
(ECA) in Geneva, which was attended by 136 of the world’s top football clubs,
the members expressed anger at the way FIFA president Blatter has made various
unilateral announcements about the 2022 World Cup, which was awarded to Qatar
in December, and his views on whether it may be held in the summer or winter
months.
ECA board member David Gill of Manchester United told
reporters the clubs were surprised about how the debate over the 2022 World Cup
developed, sparked by Blatter’s comments.
Last month Blatter said he expected the World Cup to be in
the winter but this week said he now expected it to be in the summer of 2022
although no formal discussion has taken place.
“There has been concern obviously in the way this
debate has manifested itself. That is the view of more than 100 clubs and the
European leagues. This is a major thing that will have ramifications for club
football for three seasons.
“For it to happen in that way was somewhat surprising.
This is an issue that has not been dealt with correctly.”
The ECA announced a set of “new basic principles”
they would like to see for drawing up the international calendar with rules
that cannot be changed.
They want a maximum of one international tournament per
player per year to stop player exhaustion.
They also want national team “periods” as opposed
to single dates for official or friendly games and a period of at least seven
weeks without any international football following major tournaments like the
World Cup or continental tournaments.
“We need to be listened to. If you are not heard, you
need to scream for attention,” said Umberto Gandini, an AC Milan director
and vice-chairman of the ECA.
“I wouldn’t say we are at war, the clubs
are very patient, but we have our limits. We hope UEFA and FIFA will hear what
we have to say to them. We have no doubt they will listen to us and consider
that what we are asking for is logical and fair,” added Sandro Rosell, an
ECA vice-president and president of Spanish champions Barcelona, which recently signed
a $39.8m yearly sponsorship deal with 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar.
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