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2022 World Cup: Tournament set for November and December
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar should take place in November and December, a Fifa taskforce has recommended.
Key football officials met in Doha to discuss a number of options following fears a summer event would endanger the health of players and fans.
Summer temperatures in Qatar can exceed 40C while those in November and December drop to around 25C.
Tuesday's recommendation is expected to be ratified by Fifa's executive committee in Zurich on 19 and 20 March.
Taskforce chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa also recommended that the 2022 tournament should be shortened by a few days.
There has already been speculation that the tournament could start on 26 November and end on 23 December.
However, Fifa has already said there are no plans to reduce the size of the tournament from 32 teams or 64 matches.
Why was November-December chosen?
The other dates under consideration were May and January-February.
In a statement, Fifa said a number of options had been discussed but felt that November-December was the best one because:
A January-February tournament would clash with Winter Olympics
The month of Ramadan begins on 2 April in 2022
Hot conditions prevail from May to September in Qatar
Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said there were "pros and cons" for all options but said the "one solution" was November and December.
Sheikh Salman added: "We are very pleased that, after careful consideration of the various opinions and detailed discussions with all stakeholders, we have identified what we believe to be the best solution for the 2018-2024 international match calendar and football in general.
"It was a challenging task and I want to thank all members of the football community for their productive input and constructiveness in helping to find a solution that we believe can work for everyone."
What about a final on 23 December?
Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce said moving the World Cup to the winter was a "common sense" decision but that a final on 23 December would be too close to Christmas and the traditional festive matches.
"That's the only reservation I would have and I would like it a week earlier," said Boyce. "But I want to wait until the Fifa executive committee meeting to hear all the details about the dates."
Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said his organisation would do all it could to protect the traditional festive period for club matches.
That stance was echoed by Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the English Premier League. "We've got to make sure we keep the Christmas and New year programme intact," he said.
What will happen now?
BBC Radio 5 live's sports news correspondent Richard Conway said Europe's leading leagues and clubs would be disappointed after losing "this argument" but indicated the row over dates would rumble on.
"It's not the end of the story by a long way, but organisers in Qatar will be hopeful that this is the start perhaps of building and planning for the 2022 World Cup for real," he added.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31600194Pretty much official now, pathetic.