Awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a "blatant mistake" Fifa executive committee member Theo Zwanziger said yesterday, adding that staging the tournament in winter would be just as big a problem.
The German's attack on the decision to give the tiny energy-rich Gulf state the world's biggest single sports event came after Fifa president Sepp Blatter repeated his view that the finals could not be played in the summer.
Temperatures in Qatar in June and July regularly hit 40C (104f) or higher, leading to calls for the event to be held in January or February.
Zwanziger said the decision taken by world soccer's governing body in December 2010 was a "blatant mistake".
The former head of the German football federation, who joined the Fifa executive in 2011, claimed shifting the tournament to the winter months would have a seismic effect on soccer scheduling in Europe.
It would need a hiatus of at least six weeks to accommodate national teams preparing for, and playing at, the World Cup finals.
Zwanziger said: "If the decision was really a mistake it should be lifted and should not become an even bigger burden for those who are not involved by changing it to the winter."
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