2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier: Weather an issue?

The United Arab Emirates and India will be facing each other in the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The UAE will host their home match on July 23 most likely in Abu Dhabi, while India will host their opponents on July 28 at an undisclosed venue. The hot summer weather in the Gulf region could play a role in the first-leg while depending on where the return-leg will take place heat & humidity or monsoon rains could be a factor in India.

At the moment only Chennai's Nehru Stadium is a FIFA recognised match venue. I do not know if the AIFF has or will be sending any application to FIFA to get further venues certified by the world football governing body before the July match. Then maybe Pune's Balewadi sports complex or maybe the newly rebuild Nehru Stadium in New Delhi could be other potential home venues for India.

Talking about the weather in Abu Dhabi UAE's Slovenian coach Srecko Katanec told the local The National newspaper, "It's a little bit crazy to play football here in July but the Asian federation doesn't care about this. The conditions here will be very difficult."

Katanec was referring to the high temperatures in Abu Dhabi in July which are around 42 degrees on average, an issue which was also discussed in connection with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Coming to talk about the return-leg in India Katanec said, "On paper we may be favourites to win the campaign, but things are very close nowadays and any team can cause a sensation. Besides, we should also be wary of the difficulties caused by the hot and humid weather."

It seems Katanec is more worried about the weather then playing India at the moment but he is right with the point that qualifiers need to be timed in such a way to avoid extreme weather conditions.