De Boer urges winter move for 2022 World Cup

(GETTY IMAGES)

Ronald de Boer, who helped Qatar win the right to host the 2022 World Cup, is calling for the tournament to be moved to winter.

The former Netherlands midfielder, who works for Qatar as a football adviser, appealed to the nation's leadership to heed Uefa president Michel Platini's request that the tournament is not staged in the sweltering summer heat.

"We went for the summer, of course... but you have a lot of people doubting that and you look for other possibilities," De Boer said. "And I said already from the start, 'Why not [the winter]?"'