FIFA's Valcke: '22 Qatar World Cup Will Not Be A Summer Event

FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke today said that the '22 World Cup in Qatar "will not be played in the summer months." Valcke in an interview with France Inter Radio said, "I think it will be played between November 15 and January 15 the latest. If you play between November 15 and, let's say, the end of December, it's the time when the weather is the most favorable." The "surprise announcement" comes more than three years after Qatar was awarded the event (REUTERS, 1/8).

FIFA issued a statement following the radio appearance, saying that Valcke was giving "’his view’ that the 2022 World Cup must take place in winter” (REUTERS, 1/8).