The IOC said that "it will not consider the European Club Association's proposal to move the 2022 Winter Olympics to accommodate the Qatar World Cup," according to WORLD FOOTBALL INSIDER. IOC Communications Dir Mark Adams said, "It is in the interest of both organizations [FIFA and IOC] that there is no clash between our calendars, and we have received assurances from [FIFA] President [Sepp] Blatter that this will not be the case." The IOC’s firm dismissal of a plan floated by European Club Association Vice Chair Umberto Gandini at the Leaders Sport Summit in London "surely signals an end to lobbying to move the Qatar World Cup to January/February in 2022, the traditional window for the Winter Games." But while Gandini’s comments provoke debate, "his calls will fall on deaf ears." The IOC "will not have its Olympics overshadowed by Qatar's World Cup preparations." IOC President Thomas Bach reacted by saying that "he had no reason to fear a scheduling conflict between the Qatar tournament and the Winter Olympics, indicating that he would not allow it to happen." He said that Blatter, who favors a November/December Qatar World Cup, "had offered reassurances." Bach: "He sees this exactly in the same way, and he could not imagine having a World Cup and a Winter Olympic Games at the same time" (
WORLD FOOTBALL INSIDER, 10/9). The PA reported European clubs "will demand cash compensation if the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is moved to the winter." FIFA "is considering moving the tournament to avoid the fierce summer heat" but European Clubs' Association Chair Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said that "the cost of moving to the winter could not be borne by the clubs." Rummenigge, who is also chairman of German champions Bayern Munich, told the Leaders in Sport conference in London, "We are ready to discuss changing the date under one condition -- that there is no damage for club football because if we change from summer to November or January it will affect our business. That cost cannot be paid by the clubs. We are not ready to pay it and it has to be made clear to FIFA that they need the goodwill of the clubs or we are not ready to talk or discuss it. The fact is 76 percent of all players in the last two World Cups were contracted by European clubs" (
PA, 10/8).
