Football
ESPN staff 9y

European Club Association wants FIFA compensation for Qatar World Cup

European Club Association (ECA) chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge thinks that Europe's clubs deserve to be compensated if the 2022 Qatar World Cup is staged in November and December.

A FIFA task force ruled out the possibility of playing the tournament in May and said a clash with the Winter Olympics, held in January, would be undesirable.

The task force, led by Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, said that the tournament should therefore take place in November and December and could be shortened, though FIFA's executive committee still has to ratify the recommendation in Zurich next month.

Premier League chief Richard Scudamore -- also a member of the task force -- is unhappy with the decision, and is reported to have said there was "no real discussion" at the Doha meeting at which the recommendation was backed.

ECA chief Rummenigge, who is also chairman of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, has called for compensation due to the effect that the proposed tournament will have on domestic schedules.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Rummenigge said: "All match calendars across the world will have to accommodate such a tournament in 2022-23, which requires everyone's willingness to compromise. However, the European clubs and leagues cannot be expected to bear the costs for such rescheduling. We expect the clubs to be compensated for the damage that a final decision would cause."

Sport Bild quotes Rummenigge as saying: "The match schedule will undergo a lot of disruption. The only agreement we have with FIFA is that when the calendar needs to be changed because of the World Cup in November and December, it has to undergo a sensitive change for one season so that no damage results for clubs and leagues. Thus they have to play a role in the decision-making process.

"It was clear upfront that the World Cup will not be held in the summer. The health of players and fans must be guaranteed. To stage the Qatar World Cup in November and December is a burden for the European league, both financially as well as organisationally, hence it's not done by setting a date only."

Andreas Rettig, the outbound managing director of the German Football League (DFL), said: "FIFA now must show how a solution might look which accommodates all interests. Attention has also be paid to the workload of the players. A shortened fixture list cannot mean that the same amount of games have to be played in less time."

Meanwhile, Britain's FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce has voiced his opposition to any move to hold the 2022 World Cup final as late as Dec. 23.

Boyce, from Northern Ireland, said moving the World Cup to the winter was a "common sense" but that a Dec.23 final would be too close to Christmas and the traditional festive matches.

Information from the Press Association was used in this report.

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