Hassan al-Thawadi, Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 Organising Committee, has said that holding football’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar during the summer is possible, despite calls for the event to be moved to the winter.

“A summer World Cup is what we bid for. It’s the original plan, and we are going for it and we are moving ahead with it,” Al-Thawadi told London-based BBC Sport on 13 September. “I’d like to assure everybody that it is not an impossibility to host the World Cup in Qatar in the summer.”

Fifa is planning to discuss moving the dates of the event at its next executive committee meeting on 3-4 October. “Fifa president Blatter will bring forward the matter of playing the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar in winter to the Fifa Executive Committee on the occasion of their next meeting scheduled for 3-4 October 2013 in Zurich,” says the Fifa spokesperson. “This matter will now be with the Fifa Executive Committee and that we can, therefore, not comment further before the meeting has taken place.”

Al-Thawadi said the event will be a success regardless of when it is held. “It will be an amazing World Cup whether it is in June, July or November, December or May or January, February. At any moment in time we are ready to host – we are ready to host this at any time,” he said.