FIFA's second most powerful official, Jerome Valcke, has said the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be held in June and July, breaking from tradition. He suggested several winter dates instead.

Jerome Valcke told Radio France Inter on Wednesday that he did not expect the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be played in the northern hemisphere's summer, the European club football off-season, as is tradition.

"The dates for the World Cup [in Qatar] will not be June-July," Valcke said. "To be honest, I think it will be held between November 15 and January 15 at the latest. If you play between November 15 and the end of December that's the time when the weather conditions are best, when you can play in temperatures equivalent to a warm spring season in Europe, averaging 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit)."

Valcke did not specify whether the World Cup would be moved forward or backwards, leaving it theoretically possible that "Qatar 2022" could be played in late 2021, or early 2023. The Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place ahead of the football tournament, perhaps speaking in favor of a delay to the competition to avoid a clash.

Qatar's baking summers had prompted doubts about the country's suitability long before the tiny Emirate was controversially awarded the 2022 competition, at the expense of other candidates like the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Valcke's only superior within world football's governing body, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, had discussed the likelihood of a winter competition on several occasions.