Winter World Cup for Qatar 2022 'inevitable'

European leagues set to agree to switch

Football Association chairman Greg Dyke is in favour of a switch (Getty Images)

Europe’s top clubs are expected to accept that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will have to be played in the winter – but only on the basis it is a “one-off”.

The European Clubs’ Association will discuss the issue today at a meeting in Geneva, and the organisation’s senior vice-president, Umberto Gandini, has admitted that moving the tournament from the summer is “almost inevitable”.

That will leave the Premier League’s opposition to any move looking increasingly isolated with even new Football Association chairman Greg Dyke favouring a switch despite the disruption.