Qatar 2022 World Cup award may be a mistake, says Sepp Blatter

Fifa may have made a "mistake" in awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, according to president Sepp Blatter.

Summer temperatures can reach 50C in the Middle Eastern country.

Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said it would be "impossible" to play in such conditions, and Blatter wants the tournament moved to the winter.

Asked by insideworldfootball.com about awarding Qatar the tournament, the 77-year-old said: "It may well be that we made a mistake at the time."

New stadiums are being built in Qatar and existing ones will have their capacity extended

Blatter, who in May said it was "not rational" to play the World Cup in Qatar in June and July, added: "On the other hand, you must also consider political and geo-political realities.

"The World Cup is Fifa's biggest, if not only, global event. Who are we, the Europeans, to demand that this event has to cater to the needs of 800million Europeans above all?

"I think it is high time that Europe starts to understand that we do not rule the world anymore, and that some former European imperial powers can no longer impress their will onto others in far away places.

"We must accept that football has moved away from being a European and South American sport - it has become the world sport that billions of fans are excitedly following every week, everywhere in the world."

Blatter hopes Fifa's executive committee will follow his proposal to switch the tournament to the winter when it meets next month.

Should that be the case, the Swiss added: "The next steps will include a close look at the international calendar and to establish what consequences the change would have.

"And we would naturally need to speak to and consult with all interested parties and stakeholders."

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said in July that switching the 2022 World Cup to winter would cause "absolute chaos" for football leagues around the world.

Qatar defeated bids from South Korea, Japan, Australia and the United States to win a ballot of Fifa's 22 executive members in 2010 to host the tournament.