By Julian Linden
BANGKOK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Asia's top Olympic official has
ruled out the possibility of the 2022 Winter Olympics being
shifted from its traditional February time-slot to avoid
clashing with the World Cup, saying FIFA needed to sort out its
own problems.
Soccer's world governing body is currently considering
whether to move the 2022 World Cup, scheduled to be played in
Qatar in June and July, to a cooler time of the year to avoid
the hottest months in the Middle East.
Soccer officials remain in dispute with some of Europe's
leading clubs over when to re-schedule the tournament, with some
arguing for a January-February date, which would clash with the
Winter Olympics.
But Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti president of
the Olympic Council of Asia, said there was no way the two
events could be held simultaneously and the onus was on FIFA to
find an alternate date because the Olympics were not moving.
"I think the Olympics should be maintained because we don't
have a problem," Sheikh Ahmad told reporters on Thursday.
"This is a FIFA issue not an IOC issue."
Although the 2022 Winter Olympics host will not be
finalised until next year, the Games are certain to be held in
Asia, with only the Chinese capital Beijing and Almaty,
Kazakhstan, still in the running.
The exact dates have not been confirmed either, although
every previous edition of the Winter Olympics, dating back to
1924, has been held mostly in February.
"I believe the IOC (International Olympic Committee) will
maintain their time because we have already committed... the
organisers, the broadcasters, all the marketing partners, the
NOC's (National Olympic Committees)," Sheikh Ahmad said.
"I don't think something will touch the Olympics. FIFA
should be flexible, this is my advice."
Speaking to a select group of journalists at the Association
of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) general assembly in
Bangkok on Thursday, Sheikh Ahmad said he was confident FIFA
would eventually find a compromise.
"They are the best two games in the world -- the FIFA (World
Cup) and the Summer and Winter Olympics," he said.
"I think they will analyse this and try to find the
solution... without touching each other.
"I am 100 percent confident that they will never be at the
same time, there will be a respect for the time of each event."
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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