BELFAST — The World Cup final in Qatar in 2022 should be played no later than Dec. 18, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Friday. Blatter, who arrived in Northern Ireland for this weekend's International Football Association Board (IFAB) meeting, said he would propose that idea to the FIFA executive committee when it meets next month. UEFA, European soccer's governing body, said this week that it wanted the World Cup to start on Nov. 26 and end on Dec. 23, two days before Christmas. "The World Cup will not go on until the 23rd, definitely not, we have to stop at the 18th," Blatter told reporters. "I am against going to the 23rd." FIFA's Task Force, meeting in Doha to decide on the time of year the World Cup can be held in Qatar, proposed Tuesday holding the tournament in November and December due to the extreme heat in June and July when soccer's showpiece event usually takes place. It is inconceivable that that recommendation will not be ratified when the FIFA executive committee meets next month when it will also finalize the dates the tournament will start and finish. The most vociferous reaction to staging a winter World Cup came from Europe's major clubs and, in particular, the English Premier League. "They are not furious, but they are not very happy, and although there is noise about FIFA and the World Cup in Qatar we have seven years to prepare for it," Blatter said. "Where this is a good will, there will be a solution and I am sure everyone will be fine." Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the chairman of the European Clubs Association, called for clubs to be compensated as a result of their season's being interrupted, but Blatter confirmed what his secretary general Jerome Valcke said earlier. "I don't think they should be (compensated)," Blatter said. "But I was in contact with Karl-Heinz Rummennige before this decision was taken and I am sure a solution can be found. "This is football. The European clubs are not so happy but they should be in solidarity. This is the important thing. "There are problems and discussions and the problems need to be solved." Blatter is in Belfast for the annual meeting of IFAB, soccer's ultimate law-making body. — Reuters
