FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022: Sepp Blatter Wants Tournament To Take Place In Winter Months

FIFA president Sepp Blatter wants the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be played in the winter months.

ESPN reports that "Sepp Blatter has confirmed that he will ask the FIFA executive committee to move the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to the winter, insisting: 'Where there's a will, there's a way.'"

The location has spurred controversy since 2010 when it was announced that the event would take place in the Middle East. Climates in the region reach up to 50 degrees Celsius in the summer months. While there are plans to invest billions of dollars in air conditioning stadiums, Blatter believes that greater precautions must be taken.

"There is still enough time. I will bring this up to the executive committee," said Blatter. "If this World Cup is to become a party for the people, you can't play football in the summer. You can cool down the stadiums, but you can't cool down the whole country."

However, Blatter faces a tremendous amount of opposition in the matter. Altering the schedule of the World Cup would also force nations to change the schedule of domestic leagues. Leagues usually run from August through May with a month off in January. If the World Cup were to take place in January, many domestic teams could see their players miss the second half thanks to potenital injury at the World Cup. Additionally, clubs could fight to retain their players during the January window, minimizing the quality of the soccer played at the World Cup.

FA Chairman David Bernstein recently expressed a dissenting view.

"My personal view is that it would be a case of a false prospectus if the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was switched to the winter. It is a serious matter bidding for the World Cup, and countries including ourselves spent huge amounts of money bidding for the tournament," he said. "The bid was for the World Cup to be played in June and July, and for it then to be moved to the winter would be fundamentally flawed. If people want it in the winter, they should bid for it on that basis. To try and get it through the back door like this is absolutely flawed."