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ECA, EPFL Want 2022 Qatar World Cup To Be Played In May/June

The question that just "will not go away," that of when to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, "was put back on the table" on Tuesday night after the European Club Association "insisted that the tournament be held in May and June," according to James Masters of the LONDON TIMES. The ECA, which represents Europe’s biggest clubs, "wants the competition to begin on May 5, 2022 and finish on June 4," instead of the winter World Cup preferred by both FIFA and UEFA. An ECA spokesperson said, "The impact on the international calendar with a World Cup in May would be extremely limited or insignificant" (LONDON TIMES, 12/17). The BBC reported the ECA and European Professional Football Leagues -- an association of 21 European leagues -- believe "their new proposal demonstrates how the tournament could be played in May and June without putting the health of players, supporters and officials at risk, with cooling systems deployed in stadiums." They argue that their proposal "would have the least impact on the 2021-22 or 2022-23 club fixture calendars, which would need to be seriously revised if either of the options favoured by FIFA is ratified" (BBC, 12/17). The PA reported the ECA and EPFL "propose matches in the group stages" -- which under their plans would run from May 5-19, 2022 -- "would be played between 6pm-11pm local time." Knockout matches, starting from May 21, "would kick off at either 7pm or 10pm local time." Under the wet-bulb globe temperature reading, a measure used to determine the level of risk caused by exposure to certain climatic conditions, "it argues only games kicking off at 6pm or 7pm could be classified as ‘high risk,’ with other games under the WGBT measurement deemed ‘moderate risk'" (PA, 12/16).

INCREASING PRESSURE: REUTERS' Karolos Grohmann reported FIFA exec committee member Theo Zwanziger said that Qatar "must meet a March deadline for specific labor reforms or it could risk losing the 2022 World Cup finals." The German, who was formerly head of his country's FA and has been a "vocal critic" of the desert state's ability to host a World Cup under extreme summer heat, said that "a proposal would be made to the world governing body's Exco meeting on Friday." Zwanziger: "Qataris must deploy, by a March 10, 2015 deadline, the independent commission -- tasked with regularly monitoring human rights conditions at World Cup construction sites and note progress -- as demanded in the Piper report" (REUTERS, 12/17).

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