The agenda for the meeting scheduled for October 3 and 4 was published today and included the item "FIFA World Cup Qatar, period of the competition."

This corroborated with the promise of FIFA President Sepp Blatter who said in July that the feasibility of switching the World Cup to the winter would indeed be put to the Committee at its next meeting.

However UEFA boss Platini, who has already clashed with FIFA over the proposal, took a pessimistic view of the meeting's prospects when predicting that "probably no decision will be taken" on October 3.

"In terms of the specifics, we don't know what's going to happen," he told Associated Press.

"We haven't said that we agree fully.

"What will happen, that's more complicated and it's hard to discuss."

UEFA and FIFA President's Michel Platini (left) and Sepp Blatter, speaking here in 2010, have differences in opinion over the 2022 World Cup in Qatar


With temperatures in Qatar likely to exceed 50 degrees in the summer months the switch certainly appears the most feasible and ultimately likely scenario.

European football federations agreed last week that it would be "impossible" to stage the tournament in summer although, as Platini says, they are yet to make a final decision. 

This is despite the fact that Qatar has promised that its environmentally-friendly temperature cooling systems will be effective whatever time of year the competition is held.

Platini also reacted tersely to Blatter's admission that politicians put pressure on FIFA members to vote for Qatar's bid to host the World Cup.

"With the extraordinary experience M. Blatter has, he has only all of a sudden realised there are economic and political influences when we decide who is going to host Olympic Games and so forth.

"It's better late than never I guess."

With tensions still obviously so rife it does seem unlikely that the situation will be resolved before or after the executive committee meeting next month.