"If this World Cup is to become a party for the people, you can't play football in the summer," Blatter told a conference in Austria.

"You can cool down the stadiums but you can't cool down the whole country."

The decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar left football fans the world over dumbfounded considering the nation's non-existent heritage in the sport and the scorching summer temperatures that can reach 50°C.

And Blatter could be in for another backlash from fans after he announced he would request the FIFA Executive Committee move the tournament to the wintertime, which under current circumstances would create a clash with the Premier League season - one of a few leagues in Europe that does not schedule a winter break.

Qatar has ambitious plans for cooling stadiums but a winter World Cup now
looks a strong possibility

''There is still enough time,'' Blatter explained.

''I will bring this up to the executive committee.

''We have to protect our partners, our commercial partners, our television partners.

"We have to be tough on this.''

Qatar 2022 head Hassan Al Thawadi did reiterate that they bid to host a summer tournament, which would feature air-conditioned stadiums and high-tech cooling equipment, but he admitted moving the tournament was a possibility.

''It there is a wish from the football community to move the World Cup to the winter, we are open for it,'' he told the conference via video link.

Between the months of June and September, Qatar usually sees temperatures of up to 49°C and experiences zero rain, while the period between October and December usually sees temperatures drop to between 25°C and 30°C, with rain becoming more likely to occur towards December and the early months of the year.

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November 2012: Winter World Cup plans would have to be finalised within next two years, says Qatar 2022 leader