LONDON – Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam on Friday ruled out shifting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to winter or staging tournament matches around the Gulf region. Bin Hammam told Sky News in an interview that he was “unimpressed” by suggestions from FIFA President Sepp Blatter that the tournament could be moved to a winter time slot to avoid sweltering summer temperatures in Qatar.
He also took aim at remarks by UEFA President Michel Platini earlier this week that the 2022 tournament could be a “Gulf World Cup”, with matches taking place in several countries surrounding Qatar. Bin Hammam’s stinging rebuttal of recent comments from Blatter are certain to fuel speculation that the Qatari is planning to challenge the FIFA chief at elections later this year. “I believe Qatar can stand alone and organise the competition by itself,” Asian Football Confederation President Bin Hammam told Sky.
