Winter World Cup in Qatar 'flawed' - FA chairman David Bernstein

Football Association chairman David Bernstein believes any plans to move the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to the winter are "fundamentally flawed".

Fifa president Sepp Blatter said last month that it is "not rational" to play in the summer heat of Qatar.

But Bernstein said: "The bid was for the World Cup to be played in June and July and for it then to be moved to the winter would be fundamentally flawed.

"If people want it in the winter they should bid for it on that basis."

Qatar defeated bids from South Korea, Japan, Australia and the United States when it was awarded the competition in 2010, while England were unsuccessful in their bid for the 2018 tournament, which went to Russia.

Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke admitted in March that the 2022 tournament may be moved as temperatures can hit 50C in the summer in Qatar.

But Bernstein, who steps down as FA chairman next month, says the change would cause significant disruption to European leagues.

He said: "I personally believe that the domestic league season should remain more or less the way it is now, running from August to May.

"I think football is a winter game, that the public greatly enjoy their football through the winter and that we should think very carefully before we take football away from the public in the winter."

The Premier League has already said that it is against the switch.