PARIS: UEFA president Michel Platini said Friday that the decision to play the 2022 Qatar World Cup final on December 18 suits Europeans as it comes before Christmas.
“It’s a good date, maybe December 23 was a little too late because it would be difficult for people to get home in time for December 24,” he explained.
“So December 18 is good for UEFA, and we can accommodate changes to the Champions League programme too,” he said.
But Platini said that FIFA needs to respect the existing international windows in which qualifying matches for major tournaments and friendlies are played by national teams.
“There are four international dates that need protecting and could be affected, and these are vital for the national associations. FIFA needs to look at the calendar and make sure they are protected,” explained Platini.
Meanwhile the Qatar organising committee expressed relief and satisfaction that the debate on the timing of their 2022 World Cup had been brought to a satisfactory conclusion.
It added that even with the switch away from the Qatar summer, they would nevertheless continue thir project to build air condition stadiums.
FIFA’s decision Thursday to switch the World Cup finals to November and December ended a long-running and acrimonious debate forced by the scorching temperatures in Qatar in June-July.
