Valcke: 'There will be no compensation'
February 25, 2015
At a press conference in Doha on Wednesday, FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke said that European football clubs would not receive financial compensation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being held between November and December. Valcke also added that the tournament would likely have to be reduced from 32 to 28 days due to the smaller time frame.
"There will be no compensation. There are seven years to reorganize," he told a Doha press conference. "We are in agreement with the clubs."
European associations, representing major clubs from England, Germany and France, have already expressed their unhappiness with the decision made by a FIFA task force in Qatar on Tuesday. English Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said he was "very disappointed" about the news, while Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said he expected "the clubs to be compensated for the damage that a final decision will cause."
Valcke also referred to the release fees that FIFA already pay to clubs. 61.5 million euros (70 million dollars) was paid out to clubs for releasing players for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Bayern Munich received 1.1 million euros (1.3 million dollars) for allowing players to go on international duty.
On Tuesday, the task force made a provisional suggestion for the tournament to start on November 26 and end on December 23, 2022, which would force the domestic European leagues to take a break.
Valcke said firmly that European clubs should simply accept the potential switch, even though "it's not perfect." The Frenchman added: "It is happening once and we are doing nothing that destroys football."
A final decision on both matters will be made by the FIFA executive committee at a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 19-20.
jh/apc (AFP, dpa)