FIFA President Sepp Blatter has long been known for his bizarre proposals for the betterment of the sport; women wearing tighter shorts and goals being enlarged to encourage more goal-scoring both come to mind. The London Times examines his proposal yesterday to end the long-standing debate over club-versus-country by making soccer a summer sport. Players’ clubs, the organizations that actually pay them to play, have long complained that the addition of international games to an already long season is taxing on their players. They also get particularly upset, of course, when their players return from international duty with long-term injuries-the case of Newcastle United and the hapless Michael Owen comes to mind. Instead of sprinkling internationals into the crowded European season, Blatter says a lengthy winter break could take care of the problem by setting aside three weeks for major qualifying matches. Well, the English Football Association, for one, didn’t like the idea: “It is not something that would be welcomed by our clubs, fans or other sports,” a statement read. Blatter claims his proposal is backed by “major European clubs,” although none have yet come out in support of yesterday’s announcement. An English FA official also pointed out that his idea made no mention of the World Cup finals and the European Championship, which have always been held in the summer. Then there’s the matter that most of Europe goes on vacation for the month of August; Europe’s leagues might not want to compete with vacation time for spectators.