UEFA president Michel Platini has repeated his call for the Qatar 2022 World Cup to be played in the winter months to avoid the scorching summer heat in the Gulf state.
“I don’t change my ideas like I change my shirts, even if it’s hot and I am sweating,” Platini was quoted by AFP as saying after UEFA’s executive committee meeting in Limassol, Cyprus on Thursday.
Platini joined former FIFA Executive Committee member Frank Beckenbauer and FIFPro, the global players’ union, in supporting a switch to the winter months soon after Qatar was awarded hosting rights last December.
“It’s great that the grounds will be air-conditioned but I think that this sporting occasion is the most important in the world. The best period is to play in the winter and in November-December 2022, because in January 2022 there will be the Winter Olympics,” Platini added.
But Qatar 2022 organisers are confident their use of sophisticated cooling technologies will lower temperatures inside the stadiums and training centres to 27 degrees Celsius.
Platini’s comments differ from those of FIFA president Sepp Blatter who said any decision to alter the timing of the 2022 World Cup would come from the Qatari organisers.
“For the time being, nobody has asked to change anything, neither the organisation in Qatar nor the FA there,” he said in July. “So for the time being the Qatar World Cup is not touched and the basic is that it will be played in June and July.”
Also in July, the architect behind one of the 12 stadia being built for the touranment said it could be the most expensive sports facility ever built.
The Sports City Stadium which will hold 65,000 fans could cost more than $2bn, Dan Meis, of US-based Populous was quoted as saying.