‘Qatar’s climate well suited for a January start’

“One should think about another solution. In January and February you have comfortable 25 degrees (Celsius – 77 Fahrenheit) there,” Beckenbauer said. “Qatar won the vote and deserves a fair chance as the first host from the Middle East.”

Beckenbauer said it was a mistake to choose World Cup hosts for 2018 and 2022 at the same time. Russia will stage the 2018 World Cup,“and it will be a strong host,” he said.

Beckenbauer said he was surprised by the early eliminations of Australia as a candidate for the 2022 World Cup and England for the 2018 tournament. England got the best marks in FIFA’s own evaluation report ahead of the vote,but still lost in the first round of voting. Beckenbauer declined to reveal how he voted.

Euro mascots named

The Euro 2012 mascots finally have names: Slavek and Slavko. UEFA presented the twin figures in the football kits of Poland and Ukraine last month but invited the public to choose their names.

The European football association said Saturday that voters overwhelmingly favored Slavek and Slavko over the other choices of Siemko and Strimko or Klemek and Ladko. Slavek is decked out in Poland’s white and red national colors and Slavko in Ukraine’s blue and yellow. Each has a shock of hair in matching colors that sticks straight up. Four cities in Poland and four in Ukraine are to host the championships.