FIFA stunned the world by awarding the 2022 edition of the world's showpiece football tournament to Qatar in December 2010, with Australia receiving just one of 22 votes and being eliminated from the bid process in the first round.

Japan, South Korea and the United States also missed out as Qatar was awarded the tournament for the first time in its history.

A situation has unfolded - in which FIFA President Sepp Blatter has changed his stance on numerous occasions - where the prospect of a first-ever winter World Cup is now a real possibility, as FIFA officials believe that scorching temperatures in the state would be an issue in the hosting of the tournament.

Temperatures in Qatar can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius between the months of May and September, although this figure considerably drops to as low as five degrees in the winter months.

Australia received just one of 22 votes when it was eliminated in the first round of the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup



With world football's governing body's Executive Committee widely expected to decide to move the 2022 World Cup when they meet next month, Lowy has made the feelings of the FFA known, and claimed that nations that were eliminated in bidding for a summer World Cup should be awarded compensation if the change goes ahead.

"Australia invested heavily in the World Cup process and the entire nation was behind the bid," Lowy said in an FFA statement earlier today.

"Since December 2010 Australia has been careful not to let its misgivings about the process be interpreted as sour grapes.

"But now, with increasing speculation about a change that will impact on us as one of the bidding nations, and because our competition will be affected, we have made our position public."

FIFA board member Lowy, who wrote to Blatter in July to explain the FFA's stance on switching the 2022 World Cup, asks the Executive Committee to consider the establishment of a "transparent process" in which the impact upon domestic leagues would be examined and compensation awarded to affected leagues should the tournament be moved. 

He goes on to say that compensation should also be awarded to the nations that "invested many millions, and national prestige, in bidding for a summer event", and that a decision on the scheduling of the 2022 World Cup should be delayed until the investigation by FIFA's Ethics Committee into the awarding of the tournament to Qatar is completed amid claims of corruption in the bid process.

Frank Lowy wants FIFA to wait until an investigation into the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively is complete


"Our season takes place during the Australian summer to avoid a clash with other local football codes, a move that was necessary because the A-League simply could not get access to the high standard stadiums required as they were being used by other codes during the Australian winter," he continued.

"If the World Cup were to be staged in the middle of our A-League season it would impact on our competition, not just for 2022, but for the seasons leading up to and beyond that date.

"Clubs, investors, broadcasters, players and fans would all be affected.

"FIFA has an opportunity now to make the best of a bad situation by embarking on a transparent and orderly approach, unlike the process that led to the original flawed decision in December 2010.

"FIFA champions the notion of 'Fair Play' and that principle should apply to the decisions it makes in the coming months."

Other nations have also voiced their concern over the potential schedule change, including Britain's Premier League, which is one of numerous domestic leagues that would see its regular season schedule severely disrupted should the World Cup take place in the winter.

"The prospect of a winter World Cup is neither workable nor desirable for European domestic football," said a spokesman for the league when Blatter declared that a summer World Cup in Qatar would not be possible due to the high temperatures back in July.

Australia's bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup is believed to have cost the nation approximately AUS$46 million (£27 million/$43 million/€32 million).

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
July 2013: Winter World Cup moves one step closer as Blatter calls for Qatar 2022 to be switched