World Cup organising body the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee has replaced Andrew Longmate as its acting general counsel in a shake-up of its in-house legal team.

Longmate, who was previously a partner at Latham & Watkins in London and senior counsel at the Qatar Investment Authority, has taken up a role as personal legal counsel to the Committee's secretary general Hassan Al-Thawadi.

The Committee has apppointed Longmate's deputy GC Tariq Al-Abdulla as his replacement. Al-abdulla is a former Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom associate.

It is thought that partners at firms in the Committee's informal pool of go-to advisers were notified of the changes last month.

Sources have meanwhile suggested that the changes to the in-house team could mean a shift in strategy in terms of how the Committee's legal roster will be structured.

A partner at one of the Committee's legal advisers said he expected Longmate to remain "heavily involved" with the managing body. 

A spokesman for the Supreme Committee declined to comment.

During his time as the Committee's acting GCl Longmate oversaw the appointment of Clifford Chance as main legal adviser to the organiser's technical programme, which covers the development of the proposed Lusail Iconic Stadium. The stadium will host the tournament's opening game and final.

Controversy over the decision to award the World Cup to the sovereign state has continued, most recently sparked by media reports that the tournament may be shifted from summer to winter because of concerns about the severe heat regularly experienced in the emirate.