Tebas: "A winter World Cup in Qatar will cause irreparable damage to the European leagues"

Following its General Assembly, the chairman of the Association of European Professional Football Leagues, Frédéric Thiriez, offered a press conference alongside Javier Tebas, the president of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional. Thiriez read an official statement in which the European leagues expressed their opinion on the decision taken by FIFA to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in winter. The chairman declared their "disappointment at FIFA's decision" because "it will cause serious damage to the European leagues from a sporting and financial point of view" and added that it "raises serious questions about the decision-making process and demonstrates a lack of good governance in the bodies governing international football, who only consider their member associations".

Thiriez continued: "It is unthinkable that the leagues are not part of the decision-making process in the schedule for competitions" and explained that "the EPFL is responsible for protecting the interests of all clubs". He declared that the organisation is ready to "support any legal action that individual leagues may take in the near future".

LFP president Tebas stated that "the LFP will not sit back" and added that it will convey "to the clubs and PLCs that comprise the Spanish league that there were other alternatives for the holding of the World Cup. If it is not reassessed, we will have a serious problem both from a sporting and financial point of view, which will have to be compensated".

Thiriez seconded Tebas's views, commenting: "The EPFL has always been constructive on this issue. We’re not against Qatar, but against playing the World Cup in winter". He revealed that "a report was sent to FIFA demonstrating that it's feasible to play in May from 6:30 pm. We never received a reply to this document. Our proposal was not examined and that is not acceptable". The EPFL head underlined that they "represent 85% of the national leagues, 85% of the football economy in Europe, and our point of view is not taken into account. We need to be part of the decision-making".

Tebas explained that "stopping for two months in winter causes serious financial damage in terms of audiovisual rights". The LFP chief also outlined a further problem: "What do we do with all the players who don’t go to the World Cup? What do we do with the Liga BBVA and the more than 500 players in those two months? The European leagues are big, small and medium-sized clubs and the damage is irreparable".