Valcke: Winter World Cup possible!

It seems FIFA is willing to at least think about a winter 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. That is the impression one gets if one listens to FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, who is currently in the Guld region for the FIFA Club World Cup being played in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The idea of a winter World Cup was first raised by Franz Beckenbauer, who happens to be a FIFA Executive Committee member, he had said, "We need to consider this solution of January and February when in Qatar the temperatures are around a pleasant 25 degrees. Why would that not be acceptable? The schedules for the big European leagues are due to be changed in 2012 and that would mean the impact would be less."

And the FIFA Executive Committee is the forum where the issue needs to be raised according to Valcke, "For now that's not the case. It's too early to talk about a change to what is part of the Qatari bid which was the one on which the executive committee members made their decision."

Valcke would add a different dimension to the issue and say, "If you can do so, it would be a solution to open the organisation of the World Cup to a number of countries in this period which is winter in Europe but not winter in the rest of the world."

So it seems the FIFA General Secretary would consider such an option if raised through the right channels to spare everyone involved a World Cup in the desert heat of the Gulf. And hopefully Franz himself will raise the issue in the next FIFA ExCo meeting early next year. And then the FIFA internally could discuss the option and find a solution in everyone's interest.

Qatar's World Cup in January?

A lot of people are still stunned at the fact that Qatar was given the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the big follow-up discussion is revolving around the summer heat in June/July in the Middle East. Now German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has come out saying why not hold the tournament in January?

Beckenbauer speaking to German tabloid Bild said, "We need to consider this solution of January and February when in Qatar the temperatures are around a pleasant 25 degrees. Why would that not be acceptable? The schedules for the big European leagues are due to be changed in 2012 and that would mean the impact would be less."

"Also it would be a viable alternative to the huge expenses involved in setting up air-conditioning for the stadiums and the fan zones," Beckenbauer added.

The Kaiser has a very valid point there and the Asian Football Confederation could be role model for FIFA in this idea. Qatar will be hosting the 2011 AFC Asian Cup and due to the weather it has been shifted from August to January due to the hot weather conditions which are prevailent in August.

But if FIFA seriously consider such a switch in interest of players, match officials and the fans then they could face tough opposition from the top European leagues. Only the German Bundesliga have a three to four week winter break, while other leagues have shorter breaks and the English Premier League have none at all. And a winter World Cup would mean a minimum break of at least six weeks, ideally eight/nine weeks to accommodate pre-tournament training camps and allow players to rejoin their clubs.

We can look ahead to some interesting discussions over the coming month's and years...

Bayern to honour Beckenbauer with Real match

German Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich later today late on Spanish giants Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly at the Allianz Arena in Munich. And the match is being held in honour of Bayern's living legend Franz Beckenbauer as his testimonial game.

Beckenbauer is now the honorary president of the club, but he remains the biggest figure the club has ever produced. Beckenbauer played for Bayern from 1964 to 1977, then came back as a member of the board, coached the club on two occasions, was the clubs president until last year before he how is the clubs honorary president. And in-between he also won the 1990 World Cup as coach for Germany after he had captained West Germany to the 1974 World Cup. Beckenbauer is surely one of the legends of world football.

When Beckenbauer left the club in 1977 to join the New York Cosmos there was no fitting sending off or testimonial game, which now 33 years later the current board wants to correct. And they want to correct it in style!

"What happened then when he left is not worthy of Bayern. He is without doubt the biggest personality in the history of the club," said current chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

A great season opening for Bayern Munich and its fans, while for new Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho it is a chance to see his squad in action against a tough opponent ahead of the La Liga start at the end of the month.