World Cup and Winter Games Will Not Clash Says Bach

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has said there must be no clash between the World Cup and the Winter Olympics in 2022.

The World Cup is expected to be held in the winter in Qatar and January and February have been earmarked as the preferred dates for the tournament to be staged.

According to Bach, he has been given assurances by FIFA President Sepp Blatter that the two events will not clash.

In an interview with the BBC Bach said: “I have no reason not to believe (him).

“He made it very clear that a clash of these two great events is in nobody’s interest.

“And therefore his clear commitment was, and is, that there will not be such a clash.”

Bach believes there would be “no winners” if the two major sporting competitions were to go ahead in the same period of the year.

“A clash would be bad for the international audience who would have two major sports programmes broadcast worldwide, so the public’s attention would be divided,” he said.

“Also for the sponsors, there are some that are common to Fifa and the IOC. To manage these two kind of programmes at the same time would be very difficult, so in the end there would be no winners.

“The athletes and the players would not get the attention they deserve, and for all the other sponsors and broadcasters being involved it would be very, very difficult to manage.

“It’s in the mutual interest that this is not happening and we have this commitment.”