By AVI CREDITOR
The 2022 FIFA World Cup might just be played in the winter after all.
After a series of high-profile soccer personalities raised the possibility of scheduling the event in the winter to avoid the high temperatures of a Qatari summer, FIFA president Sepp Blatter offered a surprisingly revealing take on the matter, which will be discussed at FIFA's executive committee meeting in March.
"I expect it to be in the winter, because when you play football you must protect the main people, the players," Blatter said at a media event in Qatar.
A winter World Cup would be the first of its kind and, among other things, would affect the schedules of all major European domestic leagues.
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BLATTER BLASTS IOC
In defending FIFA against allegations of corruption, Blatter compared the legitimacy and transparency of FIFA to that of the International Olympic Committee, saying that the IOC "has no transparency" and operates financially "like a housewife."
According to the Associated Press, Blatter said, "Our accounts are open to everyone. … The IOC does it like a housewife. She receives some money and she spends some money."
Blatter also reportedly is not going to be creating an anti-corruption commission as he had previously stated.
SPURS CLOSE IN ON BECKHAM
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said that his club is closing in on a loan deal for Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham and that he hopes to have him with the team as soon as Sunday.
The loan would send Beckham to North London for two months, and he would return in time for the start of the Galaxy's regular season.
MLS ORIGINAL OKAFOR DIES
Uche Okafor, a former member of the Nigerian national team and an MLS original with the then-Kansas City Wiz/Wizards, was reportedly found dead at his Dallas home Thursday morning. He was 43 years old.
Okafor played in Kansas City from 1996 to 2000 and was on the Nigeria squad that captured the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations.
CREW LOSE JERSEY SPONSOR, ADD STRIKER
Glidden will no longer be the shirt sponsor for the Columbus Crew, ending its deal with the club that began in 2008, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The paint company still will sponsor the club, just not in the capacity as its reported $1 million jersey deal.
The Crew also announced the signing of striker Tom Heinemann, who scored 14 goals last season in his time with the Charleston Battery and Carolina RailHawks.
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What do you think about the possibility of a winter World Cup? What do you make of all of Blatter's comments? Think Beckham's loan is a good thing? Saddened by the news of Okafor's passing? What do you think of the Crew's announcements?
Share your thoughts below.