According to Bayer Leverkusen’s managing director Simon Rolfes, the World Cup in Qatar in the fall will have significant consequences for the course of the Bundesliga.
“I don’t know what effect this will have on the Bundesliga in detail. I’m sure that it will have an influence,” said the former professional in an interview with the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland”. From a sporting point of view, this World Cup is “a disaster for the clubs,” said the 40-year-old.
The late World Cup means “a much more compact game plan for the Bundesliga,” said Rudi Völler’s successor. The clubs in particular “that play internationally and also release players for the World Cup will have an extremely high burden over the course of the season”. Bayer is playing in the Champions League this year. However, the Leverkusen side were eliminated from the DFB Cup last Saturday.
The World Cup in the desert state starts on November 21st, the final is on December 18th. The Bundesliga season, which begins this weekend, is on hiatus from November 13th to January 21st.
Rolfes said it was difficult for him to judge “whether sport in Qatar can bring about changes or whether it is ultimately just being abused”. “In any case, after Russia, it is the second World Cup in a row that was anything but happy.” Qatar has been heavily criticized for human rights violations and the treatment of workers on the World Cup construction sites, among other things.