The meeting to review dates for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has now recommended a winter World Cup.
While we have seen workable plans for a winter World Cup, we would really rather just see a normal summer event. But with temperatures in Qatar simply being too high at that time of year, a winter World Cup in 2022, and all the disruption that would involve, was always on the cards.
This morning, it moved a step cloer to reality. The Fifa taskforce meeting in Doha has announced that they believe that November or December is the best time for the tournament to be held.
FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke: "there is one solution which is coming out from the discussion – which is Nov/Dec 2022."
— Dan Roan (@danroan) February 24, 2015
Even though the bid submitted by Qatar proposed a summer tournament, the reality of the heat in that part of the world at that time of year forced a change. Europe’s biggest clubs wanted a May date, but after rejecting that idea, and January and February due to a clash with the Winter Olympics, the tournament now looks nailed on to be held in November/December.
This will cause huge disruption to most of the major domestic leagues in the world and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, due to be played in January 2023, must now also be in doubt too.
How the powers that be rejiggle the calendar to accomodate this winter tournament will be intriguing but it looks like the football schedule worldwide is about to be turned on its head.
The taskforce’s recommendations will now go before Fifa’s executive next month.
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