Egypt expresses 'deep dissatisfaction' to Netherlands over embassy attack    Global pressure mounts as Gaza fighting intensifies and death toll surges    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    At TICAD, Egypt's education minister signs pacts with Casio, SAPIX    Egypt holds special importance for our investments across diverse sectors: Japanese minister    Cairo, Tokyo sign LOI to expand educational cooperation, support for persons with disabilities    Madbouly invites Japanese firms to establish industrial zone in SCZONE    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Al-Sisi meets Qatar PM, Bahrain security adviser to discuss Gaza crisis, regional stability    Indian tourist arrivals to Egypt jump 18.8% in H1-2025: ministry data    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Bin Hammam rules out World Cup date change
Published in Daily News Egypt on 14 - 01 - 2011

LONDON: Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam on Friday ruled out shifting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to winter or staging tournament matches around the Gulf region.
Bin Hammam told Sky News in an interview that he was "unimpressed" by suggestions from FIFA President Sepp Blatter that the tournament could be moved to a winter time slot to avoid sweltering summer temperatures in Qatar.
He also took aim at remarks by UEFA President Michel Platini earlier this week that the 2022 tournament could be a "Gulf World Cup", with matches taking place in several countries surrounding Qatar.
Bin Hammam's stinging rebuttal of recent comments from Blatter are certain to fuel speculation that the Qatari is planning to challenge the FIFA chief at elections later this year.
"I believe Qatar can stand alone and organize the competition by itself," Asian Football Confederation President Bin Hammam told Sky.
"And I'm really not very impressed by these opinions to distribute the game over the Gulf or change the time from July to January - it's actually premature, you know, it's people's opinions and they're just discussing it on no basis or no ground," the Qatari official added.
English football clubs have said switching the World Cup to January or February would be a logistical nightmare that would need at least a two-month mid-season break to the Premier League.
Bin Hammam appeared to sympathize with European leagues likely to be affected by a date change as he continued his criticism of Blatter's remarks.
"It's not up to one, two or three members of Fifa to talk about changing the time without getting the real stakeholders' opinions," Bin Hammam added, without mentioning Blatter or Platini directly.
"I know that football in Europe has quite a history, it is quite a business involving a lot of financial, media, marketing - a lot of things," he said
"It is unfair to these people that we talk about changing the calendar or the time without their full consultation and their full approval and their full agreement - I'm actually not happy to see that happening without the real stakeholders' part of this discussion."
FIFA has said world football's governing body would need to receive an official request from the Qatar FA before any change of the 2022 tournament dates could be formally discussed.
Bin Hammam, a member of FIFA's executive committee, said no request would be forthcoming.
"We are not interested - we are very happy and we are promising the world that we are going to organize an amazing world cup in June and July," he said.
Bin Hammam's comments are the latest in a series of criticisms of Blatter, who will run for re-election as FIFA President in May.
Asked by Sky if he was planning to run against Blatter, Bin Hammam replied simply: "No comment."
Bin Hammam's reluctance to confirm his intentions are in stark contrast to comments he made in August last year, when he categorically ruled out a bid to topple Blatter.
FIFA's decision to award the World Cup to Qatar in Zurich last month has attracted a firestorm of criticism after a bidding campaign dogged by allegations of corruption.
Bin Hammam said FIFA needed to be "more transparent" if it wanted to avoid a reputation for corruption in future.
"It's (FIFA) an organization which is more than 104 years old," he said.
"We should modernize ourselves in such a way as to reflect the real stakeholders - member associations, leagues, clubs, players, coaches," he said.
"A lot of things could be done. Maybe the actual administration can do that, they have to commit themselves to doing that.
"The structure is not helpful or useful for our world," Bin Hammam added.


Clic here to read the story from its source.