Beckenbauer: Qatar 2022 could be held in January
Reuters - Saturday 04 December 2010, 07:04
BERLIN - The 2022 World Cup in
Qatar could take place in January or February to avoid the
scorching temperatures of the summer months in the desert
state, FIFA Executive Committee member Franz Beckenbauer said
on Saturday.
Beckenbauer, who won the 1974 World Cup as West Germany
captain and also coached his nation to the 1990 title, said
hosting the tournament during the winter would be an
alternative.
The World Cups are traditionally held during the northern
hemisphere's summer months after the end of the domestic
league competitions.
Qatar, which beat bid rivals Australia, Japan, South
Korea and the United States, said it would deploy
climate-control technology to keep the temperature on the
pitch to 27 degrees Celsius while outside it was a scorching
50 degrees.
"One should think about a different solution," Beckenbauer
told the Bild newspaper, where he also works as a columnist.
"In January or February you have a comfortable 25 degrees
there. Plans for the biggest leagues would have to change for
2022 but that would not be a major undertaking."
"It would be an alternative to using climate control at
great expense for stadiums and fanzones," added Beckenbauer,
who is stepping down from FIFA's powerful executive committee
in March.
Qatar, which has never qualified for the World Cup finals,
was picked by world football's governing body FIFA on Thursday
to stage the 2022 tournament, a first both for the Middle East
and for an Arab country.
It will also be the smallest nation ever to host the World
Cup.
FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia on the same day
and Beckenbauer had long opposed the double vote by FIFA,
which has been severely criticised for it.
"It was a mistake to do both 2018 and 2022 on the same day
but now it has happened. I would be happy to leave the 2022
decision to the next generation," Beckenbauer said.