Asia's Olympic chief ruled out rescheduling the 2022 Winter Olympics to avoid the Qatar World Cup on Thursday as moves gather pace to shift football's showpiece to a cooler time of year.
Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, head of Asia's Olympic body and the worldwide Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), said he was sure the two events would not clash.
But, speaking to reporters during an ANOC meeting in Bangkok, the highly influential Kuwaiti said the World Cup had to fit in around the Winter Olympics, and not the other way round.
"I think the Olympics should be maintained because we don't have a problem. This is a FIFA issue, not an IOC (International Olympic Committee) issue," Sheikh Ahmad said.
"For that (reason) I believe the IOC will stick with their time because it already has been committed and the broadcaster has been committed, the broadcasting, all the marketing partners, the NOCs.
"I don't think anything will touch the Olympics. FIFA should be flexible in choosing -- this is my advice -- which is the best date."
The timing of the Qatar World Cup is becoming increasingly complex after football's world body FIFA supported the idea of holding it in winter to avoid the desert state's blazing summer months.
Suggested dates for the month-long tournament are January and February 2022 or later that year in November and December, raising fears of a clash with the Winter Games to be held in Beijing or the Kazakh capital Almaty.
Major football leagues oppose a winter World Cup and a January-February timing would also conflict with America's NFL, whose Super Bowl takes place in early February.
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