Sarkozy & Lord Coe differ over 2022 World Cup staging

10:25 04/12/2013
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  • Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has challenged FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter to hold the 2022 World Cup in winter.

    Speaking during the pair’s Presidential debate at the Doha GOALS Forum, Sarkozy questioned why the scheduling of international sporting events such as the World Cup or Olympic Games had to be rigid.

    A fervent supporter of the Beijing Games during his time with the European Union despite opposition from leaders at the time, Sarkozy argued that sport, and especially, football should not be exclusive to the traditional western elite.

    “Football is of such importance to the world that it must be shared. It cannot be the preserve of a few western nations, it must be shared and if you love football then you want to share it,” the 57-year-old said.

    “Why do the Olympic Games have to be held in August? Would they be any less interesting if they were held in June? Does the World Cup have to be held in June or July? Do we have such little confidence in the event that if we shift it slightly it will be a failure?

    “I think the idea of scheduling events needs to be shifted. We need to adapt the schedule.”

    Sarkozy also backed UEFA’s recent proposal to host the 2020 European Championships in 13 cities around the continent, saying it would give smaller nations an opportunity they might not previously have had.

    The French politician also suggested that a similar initiative in the Middle East could help ease tensions in the region through cooperation. “We need to embrace the idea of several nations hosting certain events,” Sarkozy added. “I applaud UEFA’s decision to host Euro 2020 in 13 different countries.

    “Let’s think about what you [Qatar] are doing here, let us think also of the tensions, the risks these events could ease. When shared with other nations in a region it can act as a stabiliser.”

    However, the former French premier’s ideas of a winter World Cup or Olympic Games did not find favour with another speaker here on Tuesday, Lord Sebastian Coe.

    The man who brought London 2012 to fruition said that major tournaments had to fit themselves into an already crowded global sports schedule. “There is a density of international programmes that doesn’t just simply sit around the big championship events,” he said. “We have our Premier Leagues, we have our basketball, our baseball, we have our own track and field programmes.

    “So, I accept to truly globalise sport we are going to need to take those events into all parts of the globe but it isn’t quite as simple as just simply saying ‘why couldn’t we just move an Olympic Games or a World Cup just a couple of months’ because you actually have the globalisation of sport and those structures that are well set.”

     

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