Qatar 2022: Winter World Cup Gets Local Backing

A leading FIFA representative in the Middle East wants a winter World Cup in Qatar in 2022

The Press Association is reporting that a winter World Cup in Qatar in 2022 would make "much more sense" according to one of FIFA's most senior figures in the Middle East.

FIFA executive committee member Prince Ali Bin al Hussein of Jordan, speaking as a FIFA task force met in Zurich to look at the timing of the tournament, said it would be "wonderful" to have a World Cup in the region but that due to the extreme temperatures in summer it should be moved.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore and FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke were among those at the Zurich meeting, chaired by Asian football confederation president Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa from Bahrain.

It is understood Valcke, Scudamore and other members of the working group favour a November/December tournament to minimize disruption to the rest of the football calendar.

Prince Ali, speaking at the Soccerex conference in Manchester, said "It would make much more sense to have it in the winter."

There is still the outcome of an investigation by FIFA ethics chief Michael Garcia into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to take into account and Prince Ali said he hoped it would address the decision to hold the vote for both tournaments at the same time.

He added: "One of the questions is why there was a double bid in the first place and in all fairness, for 2022, if they had had another four years to iron out those details things would not be as they are.

"I hope things go smoothly but it would be wonderful to have a World Cup in our part of the world."

Stadium to be built in Al-Wakrah for the Qatar's 2022 World Cup.(AFP Photo / Qatar 2022 committee)

The task force was attended by representatives from confederations, FAs, leagues and clubs as well as the players' union FIFPro, the European Clubs Association and Qatar 2022 chief executive Hassan Al Thawadi.

Sheikh Salman said: "This is the first meeting and there will be future meetings on this matter. As the FIFA Executive Committee has emphasized, the consultation process should not be rushed but instead be given the necessary time to consider all of the elements relevant for a decision.

"We have made progress at today's meeting and will continue to work together to find the best solution for football."

Valcke clarified that, based on the hosting agreement, the World Cup must be held in 2022.

The options of January/February 2022 - which would likely clash with the winter Olympics - and November/December 2022 were put forward as alternatives to June/July 2022. The task force will meet again in November and then in February 2015.