FIFA confirms Qatar 2022 World Cup final on December 18


23-03-2015 01:53 PM

Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - FIFA has confirmed that the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played on December 18, the country's national day.

FIFA spokesman Walter De Gregorio said on Thursday the announcement was a "major step" and said the executive committee of football's world governing body could confirm the start date on Friday.

"It is a major step because finally we know and we can move forward," De Gregorio said in a statement at FIFA headquarters.

"In principle we will try to play in 28 days. The next stage will be to have talks ... in particular related to the international match calendar."

FIFA's executive committee prefers a 28-day tournament, four days fewer than usual and starting on November 21, but did not make a decision in the opening session of its two-day meeting.

The November through to December option had been expected after being recommended by a FIFA-appointed task force which met last month in Doha, the Qatari capital.

The task force sought to take FIFA's lucrative event out of the Qatari summer heat in the June to July period when World Cups are traditionally played.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter then said he preferred a Sunday, December 18, final. Every World Cup final since 1966 has been played on a Sunday.

By rejecting UEFA's preferred December 23 final, a Friday, the FIFA executive committee helped protect the English Premier League's traditional December 26 program.

A 28-day World Cup would cut the time clubs must release players to national teams.

Both FIFA and Qatar have fought off questions of corruption ever since they were awarded the tournament back in 2010, with Qatar accusing its critics of a clear bias against the Gulf monarchy.

*Agencies




  • no comments

Notice
All comments are reviewed and posted only if approved.
Ammon News reserves the right to delete any comment at any time, and for any reason, and will not publish any comment containing offense or deviating from the subject at hand, or to include the names of any personalities or to stir up sectarian, sectarian or racial strife, hoping to adhere to a high level of the comments as they express The extent of the progress and culture of Ammon News' visitors, noting that the comments are expressed only by the owners.
name : *
email
show email
comment : *
Verification code : Refresh
write code :