Rummenigge calls for World Cup date move
Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has urged FIFA to hold the Qatar World Cup in April 2022.
FIFA is set to hold a Qatar 2022 task force in Zurich next week as it bids to find a resolution to hosting the tournament in a country which sees searing heat in the summer months.
The governing body and UEFA are pushing to hold the World Cup finals in the winter but the European Club Association (ECA), chaired by Rummenigge, will lobby for the tournament to run from late April until the end of May.
“At the moment, there are two proposals on the table: the FIFA proposal in November and the UEFA proposal in January,” Rummenigge told The Times.
“Our proposal is a bit different. We will publish that in the next few days.
“We have made some research... and the outcome of this research is that the best option would be to start the World Cup at the end of April, finishing in May.
“It’s still hot, but it would be something like 35 degrees maximum. If you then play in the evening, let’s say 7pm and 9.30pm, then 9.30pm (in Qatar) is 7.30pm in central Europe, 6.30pm in the UK.
“From all points of view that’s no problem. We will bring this option to the table to discuss at the FIFA task force on November 3.”
