FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday the 2022 World Cup should be switched to winter because of the blistering heat in Qatar during the summer.

Blatter admitted he had to take his share of the blame for not taking the heat problem sufficiently into consideration when awarding the tournament to Qatar in 2010.

"The World Cup must be a festival of the people. But for it to be such a festival, you can't play football in the summer," Blatter said in Kitzbuehel, Austria.