<div id="attachment_4018" style="width: 250px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/garber_gulati.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>We are the champions!</div>
Recently we’ve shared that various soccer luminaries such as Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson has advocated a spring-to-fall schedule change in advance of the 2022 World Cup.&nbsp; Now we find out that UEFA itself is advancing well past the thinking stage.
The <a href="http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/platini-plans-for-summer-season-outrage-big-five-2190137.html" target="_blank">British</a> <a href="http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/8271294/World-Cup-2022-Fifa-on-the-defensive-over-calendar-changes.html" target="_blank">press </a>is reporting that the English Premier League and Bundesliga are gearing up to fight a UEFA (specifically, Michel Plantini) plan to implement a spring-to-fall schedule permanently for UEFA member leagues and alter the qualification calendar for international events.&nbsp; The plan, which would hypothetically be put in place by 2015, supposedly echoes a proposal Plantini wrote for Sepp Blatter and FIFA in 1998 to change the calendar then, but was scrapped because of opposition from Italy and Spain.
All European leagues would run their schedule from mid-March to the end of October.&nbsp; Qualification for the World Cup or European Championship would take place from November to mid-December, with the final tournaments played mid-January through February.&nbsp; The articles also reveal that FIFA officials have been planning for a winter World Cup in 2022, despite their assertions otherwise.&nbsp; In fact, it looks like Qatar was always going to be a winter World Cup, with the executive committee moving forward with January 2022 planning since the December 2 vote.
My first thought on reading this is I am glad UEFA is planning to make the move three years before the Russian World Cup, where I am sure a winter World Cup will be….quite pleasant.&nbsp; But it seems like the movement toward a winter 2022 Cup (and consequently a spring-to-fall schedule) has been in the works for at least the past 45 days, probably more.&nbsp; So anything FIFA has said so far about the 2018 and 2022 bid process has to be somewhat doubted if they’ve lied about the Qatar scheduling.
My second thought is that the major European leagues would never go for this.&nbsp; I think some of the smaller European leagues (I’m looking at you Scotland) would fall in-line with UEFA, but this would be a major headache to the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue Un.&nbsp; It would be especially bad for Italy and Spain where summer temperatures approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
But let’s assume UEFA is 100% in favor of this and forces all their leagues to switch to spring-to-fall.&nbsp; All of the sudden, little stubborn MLS would be a trend setter in the soccer world.&nbsp; The same nation whose president was told to his face that they needed to conform to the rest of the world’s schedule would now be the one to whom the world would conform.&nbsp; Quite a nice vindication for Don Garber and USSF who have remained unmoved by the international pressure.
What are some of the other consequences of a European schedule switch?
<ul>
<li>No more Landon Donovan to Everton loans for a few months.&nbsp; If MLS and UEFA play at the same time, American stars cannot go to Europe for a few months and return for the second half of the MLS season.&nbsp; While this would alleviate some of the Beckham transfer drama, my fear would be that big name Americans would just go to Europe and not play in MLS at all during their peak years.&nbsp; This could exacerbate the league’s talent drain.</li>
<li>Fewer tours of the U.S. by big European clubs.&nbsp; Manchester United and Barcelona probably wouldn’t want to do a 12-day tour in the winter with the chance of their matches being snowed out.&nbsp; So either they would tour the South (excellent for Miami and Dallas) or limit themselves to only one or two stops.&nbsp; And if international qualifiers are occurring, then the biggest clubs would be reduced to their second team even more so than they are now.</li>
</ul>
I will believe a UEFA spring-to-fall when I see it, but we have definitely learned two things from this story: the fall-to-spring schedule is not sacrosanct and FIFA’s pronouncements cannot be trusted.

Report: UEFA Planning to Adopt MLS Scheduling - World Soccer Talk

Report: UEFA Planning to Adopt MLS Scheduling

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Ok, it’s time to revive the dead horse and ride it some more.&nbsp; Trust me, I don’t want to but I have to.
Since the December 2 vote to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup, I have made peace with the decision.&nbsp; While I still believe the country was not the best bid put forward (the U.S. and Australia were better venues in my opinion), I understand the logic and benefits and made my peace with it.&nbsp; I wish them good luck and anticipate an absolutely excellent World Cup.
But it’s FIFA that keeps making my blood boil over this issue.

Today it’s Michael Platini’s<a href="http:\/\/www.stumbleupon.com/su/ANBVqt/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/8255326/World-Cup-2022-Michel-Platini-proposes-Gulf-World-Cup.html" target="_blank"> interview reported in The Telegraph</a>, where he shares his ideas and hopes for Qatar’s World Cup, among other topics.&nbsp; His thought is that the 2022 World Cup should be a Gulf World Cup, or in his words: “I hope it will be a World Cup of the Gulf. It could be the World Cup of Qatar but played in the Gulf.”&nbsp; This is interesting because the idea has been floated in the media by different soccer personalities but was always rebuked, usually by someone from FIFA saying Qatar has never applied for that change.&nbsp; But now the idea of a World Cup hosted by Qatar but played in other countries seems to be gaining steam.
This is on top of the already brewing movement to move the 2022 World Cup to the winter months.&nbsp; Last week, Sepp Blatter became the most recent person to <a href="http:\/\/soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/861999/blatter-predicts-winter-world-cup?cc=5901" target="_blank">suggest the event be played in January</a>, and league schedules be adjusted accordingly.&nbsp; This of course has been argued on this site and others, so I don’t want to rehash those arguments.&nbsp; But it seems to me the 2022 World Cup has a general location, but not a set date nor set locations for the matches to take place.
Not to worry, Platini told the press: “When I organised (sic) the World Cup in France we did (things) differently from what we proposed in the bid.”&nbsp; He conveniently forgot to mention France’s huge soccer structure already in place, as well as summer temperatures below 120 degrees Fahrenheit.&nbsp; What these debates tell me is FIFA backed themselves into a corner by picking a location but not having a firm idea of any specific details.&nbsp; Ask any bride-to-be or meeting planner, and they will tell you this is a recipe for disaster.
So should Qatar have its World Cup pulled?&nbsp; Not necessarily; a winter World Cup hosted by the Gulf States but based in Qatar can still be a massive success.&nbsp; But there are so many unknowns and unresolved scenarios that even an event 11 years away is looking like a dubious proposition.&nbsp; So FIFA should take an unprecedented step (again) and do the following: announce after its elections that in December 2014, FIFA will review a new 2022 World Cup bid from Qatar.&nbsp; Qatar’s bid will address the timing and location issues, as well as progress on stadiums and other logistics.&nbsp; After the presentation, the executive committee will have a vote to confirm the bid, and require a supermajority to strip Qatar if it feels their bid is not prepared for the event in eight years.&nbsp; If that occurs, FIFA can have a process to vote on new bids (possibly just have the other finalists resubmit) but it would need its committee to firmly and overwhelmingly reject (say, a 2/3rds vote) the current site.
The positives of this re-vote?&nbsp; This gives FIFA and Qatar four years to decide the basics of the 2022 World Cup and begin to implement its plan.&nbsp; If they cannot do this by 2014, FIFA needs to act in the game’s best interest and consider other venues.&nbsp; This may or may not be the U.S., but that’s not why this is an important issue.&nbsp; This is an important issue because the soccer community needs to know that the 2022 World Cup will take place and be successful, not a drama filled event like the Olympics were in Greece.&nbsp; That way, we can finally figure out who won the 2022 bidding: Qatar, or some ambiguous idea.

Should FIFA Revote on the 2022 World Cup? - World Soccer Talk

Should FIFA Revote on the 2022 World Cup?

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Just as the outrage of the U.S. losing the World Cup to Qatar seems to be settling down, Sepp Blatter and FIFA decided to open the controversy back up again.&nbsp; In <a href="http:\/\/www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2010/12/16/sp-fifa-world-cup.html" target="_blank">an interview with journalists</a> in Qatar during a visit to the Club World Cup, the FIFA president said that the organization was considering holding the 2022 World Cup during the winter, in response to concerns about the heat during matches.&nbsp; “FIFA’s job is to have a World Cup that protects the players so we take note of the recommendations and go through the list of requirements,” he said.
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke also addressed the issue, pointing out that holding the World Cup in the winter could help FIFA award the event to countries that previously would be unable to host.&nbsp; Says Valcke: “Why not? It means you open the World Cup to countries where they can never play it in June and July because it’s never the right period of time… it would be a solution to open the organization of the World Cup to a number of countries in this period which is winter in Europe but not winter in the rest of the world.”
So we aren’t going to get the air conditioned stadiums anymore?!?!?
Maybe, but the decision hasn’t been made yet, according to Blatter.&nbsp; FIFA executive committee member Franz Beckenbauer first raised the idea after the 2022 voting, and the idea was seconded by UEFA President Michel Plantini.&nbsp; Qatar has not yet requested the change in season but with the 2022 World Cup twelve years away, there is time to do so.
So if the World Cup were to be moved to January 2022, who would be the biggest winner?&nbsp; MLS
Assuming all major soccer leagues keep their schedules in the next twelve years, Europe and fall-to-spring leagues will have to make major adjustments to their 2021-2023 schedules to accommodate a major international tournament.&nbsp; You can imagine the angst that will cause the leagues, who will have to shift their schedules for months to accommodate their players’ international obligations.
However, MLS has the type of schedule that is perfect for a winter World Cup.&nbsp; As the event is ending, training camps are getting into full swing and national team players (for the U.S. and other countries) can easily integrate themselves into their clubs without missing huge chunks of games, like they do now during the World Cup.&nbsp; There wouldn’t be that awkward period of time where MLS games are overshadowed by televised World Cup games.&nbsp; And if the U.S. national team makes serious progress, the positive vibe and support for the national team could translate into MLS support (although that was not necessarily the case this year).
So as an MLS fan, I fully support the 2022 Winter World Cup!&nbsp; Do you?

A Winter World Cup in 2022? - World Soccer Talk

A Winter World Cup in 2022?

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<a href="http:\/\/seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sounders/2009360408_webblattermls19.html">FIFA President Blatter’s statement a couple weeks back regarding MLS and its schedule </a>was way out of touch with the reality of the American sporting landscape.&nbsp; Blatter said it was imperative for MLS to get on an August to May schedule in order to compete with other leagues for the best players.
Not only is there little about the comments that made common sense, but the statements further prove how extraordinary it is that an American-born sports league is being governed by a European-run entity.&nbsp; A complete rebuke by the commissioner, Garber, would have been appropriate.&nbsp; But Garber didn’t say anything other than playing an August to May schedule was not likely to happen in the near future.&nbsp; Garber’s complicity&nbsp;for&nbsp;MLS being governed by FIFA will eventually lead to either his demise or the league’s.
It is a sin that the strongest American pro Soccer league can not lead on its own.&nbsp; Comments like these recent ones by Blatter and Garber only show that they are completely removed from the reality of the American sports fan.&nbsp;
Playing from August to May is&nbsp;a ludicrous idea for several reasons and Garber knows this.&nbsp; He should just come out and say it, but he’s too much of a coward to tell the truth.&nbsp;&nbsp;Garber won’t tell the whole truth ever as long as FIFA is in charge because he is intimidated and scared.&nbsp; He doesn’t want to say the wrong thing and lose opportunities for future FIFA tournaments on U.S. soil. &nbsp;His thinking is that another World Cup here will also bring more fans to MLS.&nbsp;
Garber keeps playing along, pretending that FIFA has all the answers, when he knows they don’t.&nbsp; FIFA knows very little about the American sports fan’s expectations.&nbsp;
Playing with the minds of the fans is not a game.&nbsp;It is a shame that Soccer at&nbsp;the professional level in the U.S. is being run by people with such little courage.

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Report: UEFA Planning to Adopt MLS Scheduling

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Should FIFA Revote on the 2022 World Cup?

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A Winter World Cup in 2022?

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Blatter, Garber out of touch with American sports fans