FIFA are expected to come under pressure to agree to a shortened World Cup in 2022 as compensation for moving the tournament in Qatar to the winter, according to reports.
The final meeting of the 2022 task force will be held in Doha on Tuesday, with chair Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said to have ruled out a summer tournament.
The Guardian quotes an anonymous task force member as saying: "It is almost certain that November or December will be agreed but the trade-offs will be for a cut in the length of the World Cup and the preparation period beforehand.
"The leagues have been forceful in arguing that you only need two weeks' preparation rather than the usual three or four, and that the tournament does not need to be as long as the 32 days it was in Brazil.
"The players from northern hemisphere clubs, which is the majority, will be fresher than usual and the logistics of Qatar mean it will be less than two hours' drive to every stadium so there will be no travel days for teams.
"For example you probably don't need five days between the semi-final and final – 72 hours should be long enough."
Qatar's original bid proposed a summer tournament, but temperatures in the Gulf state are believed to pose a potential risk to players' health.
Giuseppe Labellarte
