The task force responsible for organising the tournament has today recommended that the 2022 World Cup be held across November and December of that year, to avoid the searing heat of the Qatari summer. Early unconfirmed reports suggest that the World Cup might be shortened slightly from the usual full month, and that the final could be held on December 23, just two days before Christmas.
FIFA finally endorses a winter 2022 World Cup
It turns out that summer in Qatar is quite hot ...
Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
One anonymous task force member told the Press Association that Qatar’s small size, along with the fact that many players will be in the middle of their league seasons, could lead to a quicker tournament:
It is almost certain that November/December will be agreed but the trade-offs will be for a cut in the length of the World Cup and the preparation period beforehand. The leagues have been forceful in arguing that you only need two weeks’ preparation beforehand rather than the usual three or four, and that the tournament does not need to be as long as the 32 days it was in Brazil.
While this has been coming for a while — indeed, it’s arguably been coming ever since Sepp Blatter opened an envelope, then opened his mouth, then opened up one of the biggest cans of worms in FIFA’s noticeably wormy history — today is the first official step towards moving the tournament away from its usual June/July time slot.
The decision should be formally ratified at FIFA’s meeting in March, after which will begin the long, laborious process of (a) shifting world football’s calendars around, and (b) attempting to placate the major European leagues, television networks and sponsors, all of whom are bound to be inconvenienced in one way or another. This isn’t the end of the arguments about the scheduling, not by a long way. But perhaps it is the beginning of the end.
See More:
