THE International Olympic Committee has warned Fifa that any switch of the 2022 World Cup from the summer must not affect the Winter Olympics.

European countries have given their backing to moving the tournament in Qatar to the winter, to avoid the extreme heat of the summer with some expressing a preference to play in January and February.

Those dates would have a direct impact on the Winter Olympics and the IOC would stand in the way of any such move - with the organisation having the ultimate sanction of kicking football out of the summer Games.

The IOC said it was confident Fifa would hold talks with them to avoid a clash between the two major sporting events.

Fifa's executive committee is now expected to agree in principle to move the World Cup to the winter at its meeting in Zurich in October, after the 54 European countries that make up Uefa agreed to a switch.