Feel the heat ... Sepp Blatter says the 2022 Qatar World Cup won't be moved due to the heat. Source: Osama Faisal / AP
FIFA President Sepp Blatter insisted on Thursday that Qatar will host the World Cup in June-July 2022 as planned, amid growing speculation it could be moved to the cooler winter months.
| Group B | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | Australia | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Iraq | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 5 |
| 4 | Oman | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 5 |
| 5 | Jordan | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -7 | 4 |
Blatter said that Qatari organisers would have to ask to change their hosting plan from the hottest months, despite recent hints by FIFA's top official that its ruling board - which chose the tiny desert state - could intervene on medical advice.
Commenting on an issue that has stirred controversy long after a vote in December 2010, Blatter told reporters: "It has not been put into question by FIFA's executive committee, therefore it still stands.
"Then all of a sudden people have realised that when playing in summer it will be very difficult because it is very hot."
The subject of Qatar's World Cup drew questions, despite not featuring on the 25-member executive committee's two-day agenda.
Meanwhile, committee members - missing Sri Lankan official Vernon Manilal Fernando, who is provisionally suspended during an ethics probe - failed to reach agreement on imposing age- and term-limits on FIFA positions, including the presidency.
On this key element of wide-ranging governance and anti-corruption reforms, the board compromised by asking FIFA's congress of 209 football countries to decide the issue on May 31 in Mauritius.
There, FIFA nations will also be asked to create two more ruling committee places for women, bringing the quota to three on a 27-member board. Its first female member is due to be elected at the FIFA Congress in May.
GROUP A:
Korea Republic
Iran
Uzbekistan
Qatar
Lebanon
GROUP B:
Australia
Iraq
Jordan
Oman
Japan
Socceroos' schedule:
June 8, 2012: Oman 0 Australia 0 (away)
June 12, 2012: Australia 1 Japan 1 (home)
September 11, 2012: Jordan 2 Australia 1 (away)
October 16, 2012: Iraq 1 Australia 2 (away)
March 26, 2013: Oman (home)
June 4, 2013: Japan (away)
June 11, 2013: Jordan (home)
June 18, 2013: Iraq (home)
A slate of FIFA rule changes agreed Thursday omitted several other proposals described as "fundamental" by Swiss law professor Mark Pieth, who was appointed by Blatter to lead an expert group of advisers on the reforms.
"He (Pieth) cannot say he is FIFA. He is not, he is just a counsellor," countered FIFA board member Theo Zwanziger, a German lawyer, after presenting the reform slate.
"Since when can a counsellor implement 100 per cent of what he wants?"
Blatter ordered the two-year reforms program after cash-for-votes scandals and other allegations of wrongdoing clouded his re-election in 2011. They also overshadowed the contests which saw Russia and Qatar chosen to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
Speculation about 2022 - and if Qatar should face a re-run vote - has flared regularly since.
"All the other rumours or information or tendencies to play when and where, these are not relevant for FIFA's executive committee stand on the decision," Blatter said.
The committee was meanwhile told to expect decisions by April 15 in a separate ethics investigation of a decade-old World Cup kickbacks case which could implicate panel members Nicolas Leoz and Issa Hayatou.
The country’s quest to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil re-starts on Tuesday night. Australia are locked in a dogfight with Oman, Iraq and Jordan for the second automatic spot in Group B, eight points behind Japan. You can watch this vital clash live and in stunning HD from 6.30pm (EDT) on Fox Sports 1 HD, with kick-off from 7pm (EDT).
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