Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup should be held in April and May, European clubs body claims

By Nick Butler at the InterContinental Hotel in Doha

Holding the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup in April and May would be the "best option" both in terms of climate and the football calendar, the European Club Association (ECA) has claimed.

The proposal follows lengthy deliberations and will be put forward to the FIFA Task Force on Monday (November 3), the body responsible ultimately choosing when football's showpiece event will be held.

Holding the tournament in January/February and in November/December has also been considered as well as the traditional June/July slot, although the latter is considered an outside option due the extreme summer heat in the host nation.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has already suggested the tournament cannot be played then.

But in the suggested spring months, the ECA claim that, provided matches begin in the evening, the heat in Qatar would be "less extreme than temperature experienced in some previous World Cups", including Mexico 1986 and USA 1994, as well as Brazil 2014.

Matches should begin from 6pm local time onwards, they suggest, with the estimated temperature expected to vary between 29.4 and 30.3 degrees from that time, while new technology is also envisaged to cool the stadiums.

They also believe it would have a minimal impact to the European club season, and would have no affect on other key events including the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

ECA chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge sees April and May as the best time-frame for multiple reasons ©Bongarts/Getty Images

In their plans, domestic Cup competitions could be played after the World Cup in a "Cup-only" period in countries with heavy domestic schedules due to a shortened season, ending with the Champions League Final in mid-April, with the scrapping of the traditional international friendly date in March be scrapped.also making this process easier.

"In our opinion, this proposal is the best option," ECA President Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

"It takes into account the climate issue while preserving the traditional running of a club football season.

"The impact on national team fixtures and UEFA Club Competitions remains limited and the proposal has no impact at all on the Winter Olympics or the confederations' tournaments in 2023.

"This proposal needs to be seriously considered by all stakeholders: it is an achievable solution."

Other times of year have also been suggested as more suitable for hosting the World Cup, awarded to Qatar in 2010 ©AFP/Getty Images

This marks the latest addition to a growing chorus of opinions on when the event should be held.

Earlier this month, the Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) claimed the quadrennial event should stay in Summer, while Blatter himself has speculated hat a switch to November and December is more likely.

The taskforce set up by FIFA to decide on the best date for the competition features a variety of stakeholders including clubs, leagues and player representatives, and is due to meet again next month before a final decision next year.

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation, is heading the group, alongside FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke.

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