Saturday 5 October 2013 08:01, UK
FIFA has delayed making a decision on moving the Qatar World Cup to winter - but set up a task force that paves the way for the process.
Meanwhile, former FA chairman Lord Triesman has described the Qatar World Cup quandary as a "mess that never should have happened". "They were always going to be challenged over holding a World Cup in Qatar - and in the middle of the summer - and everybody must know that the temperatures there are absolutely searing," Triesman told Sky Sports News. "Whatever they say about the air conditioning in stadia, you can't air condition the fan parks and you can't keep the spectators (sufficiently cool) to enjoy themselves. "There are a number of really difficult issues to address and I can imagine they haven't got the answers to more than a small proportion of them. "What they must have known when they voted for it, although some people will say they didn't appreciate how hot it was, was that this searing heat wasn't practical. They must have known for some time they would have to consider the winter. "They will have to deal with all the football that will have to be postponed or moved across the winter in the northern hemisphere, they'll have to deal with a number of sports in other countries and they'll have to deal with the nations who believed they were bidding for a summer World Cup in 2022, only to find that maybe the rules have been changed. All of those will be very aggrieved people. "It's a mess that never should have happened. We knew the facts in advance."
