Legend Franz Beckenbauer called Saturday for the 2022 World Cup to be played in January or February to avoid the oppressive summer heat in Qatar.
The German, who lifted the World Cup as a player and coach, was one of FIFA’s 22 executive committee members whose secret ballot Thursday in Zurich controversially awarded the Middle Eastern state the right to host the sport’s most prestigious tournament.
World Cups are traditionally held during the northern hemisphere’s summer months, when the desert state is at its hottest, with temperatures reaching a scorching 122F (50C).
Qatar’s winning bid promised climate control technology would be deployed to keep the temperature on the tournament’s fields to 81F (27C).
But Beckenbauer, who will step down from FIFA’s executive committee in March, urged the world soccer body to “think about a different solution.”
“In January or February you have a comfortable 77F (25C) there,” he told German newspaper Bild. “Plans for the biggest leagues would have to change for 2022 but that would not be a major undertaking. It would be an alternative to using climate control at great expense for stadiums and fan zones.”
