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By Bloomberg

A committee appointed by soccer’s governing body recommended that the 2022 World Cup be shortened and held in November and December to avoid the highest temperatures in host nation Qatar.

The FIFA panel said the period was “the most viable” for the World Cup, according to a statement on the body’s website. European soccer leagues objected, saying they want a May tournament. Normally, the World Cup is held in June and July, when temperatures in Qatar can rise above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).

The FIFA task force said there should be fewer competition days and the Confederations Cup, a 2021 warm-up tournament, should be held in another country. FIFA’s executive committee will discuss the proposals on March 19 and 20.

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the chairman of the committee, said in the statement it was “a challenging task” to find a compromise, although it believed it had found a solution that could work for all parties.

A November-December tournament would disrupt the English Premier League, where dozens of national team players are based. The Association of European Professional Football Leagues said in a statement it would cause “great damage” to schedules. The end-of-year slot is best because the temperature from May to September in Qatar is “consistently hot,” the committee said.

‘Health Risk’

FIFA executives picked Qatar as host ahead of Australia, Japan and South Korea and the U.S., even after an evaluation report by the ruling body’s officials that said it was a “potential health risk” for players for matches to be held there in June and July.

The EPFL said it is still backing a May event, and said its proposal will be among those submitted to FIFA’s executive committee in March.

“This proposal has been structured on a fact-based study which is totally acceptable from the meteorological point of view by providing reasonable climatic conditions with regard to both players and fans,” the EPFL said in an e-mailed statement.

FIFA’s ethics committee said in November there were indications of “potential illegal or irregular conduct” in the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively but not enough evidence of wrongdoing to hold the 2010 vote again.

Trains, Air Conditioning

Qatar plans to spend more than $200 billion on infrastructure, including a rail and metro network and $9 billion on stadiums. Organizers have said temperatures could be mitigated by air conditioning systems in stadiums, although they are willing to change the dates.

The FIFA Club World Cup, an annual tournament involving continental champions, could be switched to Qatar in November and December 2021 to serve as a test event, the panel said in the statement.