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." (BBC)
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