FIFA Puts January World Cup Back On Its Agenda For 2022 Installment In Qatar

FIFA has "revived the possibility of staging the 2022 World Cup in January and February" after FIFA President Sepp Blatter "previously ruled out the idea last year," according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. Three possible time slots were "discussed for the tournament as a FIFA task force, set up specifically to decide once and for all when it should take place, met for the first time" at FIFA headquarters on Monday. FIFA said in a statement, "Discussions centred around the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and participants were presented with information on the implications of staging the event in winter as opposed to summer, as proposed by the FIFA executive committee." Monday's meeting included representatives from European clubs, leagues and world players' union FIFPro as well as national association representatives. Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said, "This is the first meeting and there will be future meetings on this matter" (REUTERS, 9/8).