Michel Platini Says UEFA Could Move Champions League Final for 2022 World Cup

FIFA's idea for a potential winter World Cup in 2022 continues to gain steam, as UEFA president Michel Platini confirmed on Wednesday Europe's premier football organisation would be willing to alter its schedule to accommodate a potential tournament in the winter.

The Press Association's Martyn Ziegler confirmed the news:

BBC Sport's Dan Roan shared Platini's full comments, in which the former French international made it clear he doesn't believe the tournament can be held during the spring:

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It'll never be in April, May or June. It will be in winter. It's not the clubs that are playing, it's the players and it's not possible to play in May when it's 40 degrees.

I have no problem. For the competition of the Champions League, we have no problem.

Your clubs in England, your league (the Premier League) has a problem… but we have to find a compromise. Everybody has to lose something but in the end I think winter will be a good date.

It will not be in April, it will not be in May or June or July or September. It will be November, December or January.

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As reported by The Guardian's Owen Gibson, European football in general is very much opposed to having the tournament in November or January, FIFA's preferred options:

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The Premier League is to maintain its opposition to moving the 2022 Qatar World Cup to the winter despite Fifa edging further towards its preferred option of a November tournament following a key meeting in Zurich.

The Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, was among those present who backed a European Professional Football Leagues proposal to hold the tournament in May 2022 to avoid huge upheaval to club football over three seasons.

The Spanish and German leagues are also believed to be united in opposition to moving the tournament to either January 2022 or November of that year, arguing Fifa awarded Qatar the rights to the tournament on the basis it would be in the summer.

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Qatar was controversially awarded the 2022 World Cup despite conditions in the country being far from ideal to host a sporting event that has always been held in the summer. A winter World Cup has been suggested as an alternative, and at this point in time it appears to be FIFA's go-to option.

The idea has received strong backlash in Europe, however, with all of the continent's top leagues traditionally playing in winter. The current playing schedule would have to be overhauled completely to accommodate the World Cup and would no doubt take its toll on the players and the quality of the domestic leagues.

As most top players in football ply their trade in Europe (and the Champions League), the situation has developed into a standoff between the organising committee and the people representing European football in general.

Platini's comments in favour of a winter World Cup is a strong vote of confidence for FIFA. UEFA governs all European football, with its two marquee competitions—the Champions League and Europa League—being among the highest honours in the sport today.

If UEFA spoke out against the proposal and refused to change its schedules, the plans for a winter World Cup would have been as good as dead. BBC 5Live's Richard Conway agrees this is yet another push of momentum for the proposal:

The Premier League, La Liga and the rest of the top European leagues may not like the idea, but if the alternative is playing the tournament in excruciating heat, the players will surely be in favour.

Moving the tournament was never a realistic option to begin with, and it's only a matter of time before the winter World Cup is made official.

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