The likelihood of FIFA staging its first winter World Cup come 2022 has gone from possible to expected, with the governing body’s president saying the issue will be addressed at an executive committee meeting in March. Citing a want to protect the players from Qatar’s summer heat, Sepp Blatter said he “expected” the 2022 World Cup to be shifted to winter, saying FIFA’s executive committee has the power to enact such a change.
One Step Closer To Reality: Winter 2022 World Cup Expected For Qatar, Says FIFA President Sepp Blatter
In Doha for the Asian Cup, Blatter gave the first indication that a shift from a summer tournament should be expected in Qatar. From AFP’s report:
“I expect it to be in the winter because when you play football you must protect the main people, the players,” he said at a media roundtable in the Qatari capital Doha ahead of the Asian Cup, which kicks off later Friday.
“We will take it up at our executive committee meeting in March.”
Blatter’s comments have already caused some to note the possible change from Qatar’s bid specifications, where the emirate proposed building climate controlled stadia to stave off average summer temperatures that average around 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The implicit question: Why was Qatar awarded the 2022, and within months the date is being moved? Isn’t this something that should have been addressed when the bid was awarded?
For Blatter, such distinctions are irrelevant, as the executive committee working in consort with the country’s organizing committee hold the power to deviate from the bid. Again, per the AFP report:
“[Qatar] need to bring together an organising committee, then if they have any wishes on whether they want to change the basic conditions prevailing at the bidding process, then they have to make this demand of the FIFA Executive Committee,” he said.“The Executive Committee is free to change anything,” he added.
“If there really is a will to change dates then we have enough time to do it because we still have 11 years to go.”
A change to winter has the support of (from those cited in the report) UEFA president Michael Platini, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, England boss Fabio Capello, and Frank Beckenbauer, the German legend being one of the first to note the need for a change. Amongst those who've called the idea "nonsense" or "crazy" are Wolverhampton Wanderers' manager Mick McCarthy and Ian Holloway, manager at Blackpool.
Arsène Wenger add a touch of continental dissent. The Arsenal manager, noting the idea deviates from the original Qatar proposal, voices the logical, common concerns, From the Evening Standard:
But the Arsenal boss believes the proposition is unrealistic and would deepen the rift between football's governing body and England after being snubbed in the bidding process to stage the 2018 competition. Wenger said: "It looks like an idea that has come out of nowhere because nobody was told that when the bid was voted for.
"That would demand a complete reorganisation of the world's fixtures. It would create many problems between clubs and countries and countries and FIFA."
This year, most players had from mid-to-late-May to prepare for a tournament that began on June 11. Spain beat the Netherlands one month later, after which players did not see league action until late August or September, giving most more than one month off. A minimum of six-to-seven weeks would need to be set aside in the middle of the season, but perhaps as significant where issues of player fatigue always surface after a World Cup, many players could see the last half of their club campaigns compromised by the mid-season work load.
There are seemingly innumerable arguments for and against a winter World Cup, arguments we have 11 years to quantify and wage. With a switch on the verge of becoming a reality, the debate takes on a new, more significant meaning. Whereas before we were discussing hypotheses, now we’re on the brink of theory: a winter World Cup can be waged, with FIFA planning to provide the proof.
What are your views on a winter World Cup? Vote below and let us know in the comments. The soccer world is just starting to wrestle with the implications of such a move.
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