People celebrate in front of a screen that reads “Congratulations Qatar” after FIFA announced that Qatar will be host of the 2022 World Cup in Souq Waqif in Doha in this December 2, 2010 file photo.
Owen Gibson, The Guardian/London
What are the proposed dates for the 2022 World Cup?
A FIFA task force has recommended that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar should be played between late November and late December. Unconfirmed reports suggest the World Cup final could take place on 23 December.
Why have these dates been chosen?
Ever since the FIFA executive committee voted, in December 2010, for the tiny gulf state of Qatar to host the tournament in preference to the USA, Australia and Japan & South Korea, there has been a continuing debate about when it should be played.
Temperatures regularly approach 50C in summer but the average temperature in November is 29C, dropping to 25C by mid-December.
Organisers, who have always insisted they were prepared to host the tournament in either summer or winter, had originally claimed that air conditioning technology would lower temperatures within grounds to acceptable levels.
FIFA says it can’t be played in January or February of that year because of a clash with the Winter Olympics, which will be staged in either Beijing or Almaty, and that it must be staged during the 2022 calendar year for legal reasons.
Almost immediately after the vote, Franz Beckenbauer suggested it should be moved to winter and Fifa’s own chief medical officer, Michel D’Hooghe, has consistently said the tournament must avoid June, July and August.
Are there any concessions?
The task force has recommended that the tournament should be a few days shorter than normal and leagues will argue for a shorter buildup period and fewer international friendlies during the season in question.
What about broadcasters and sponsors?
Fox and Telemundo, FIFA’s TV rights holders for 2022 in the US and Latin America, had been among the biggest opponents of a shift to the winter due to the clash with other US sports and the likely effect on viewing figures. In a move that is unlikely to have been a coincidence, a fortnight ago they were awarded the rights to the 2026 tournament without a tender process. Sponsors are unlikely to be concerned, as long as bumper TV audiences are guaranteed.
What do the European clubs think?
The biggest European clubs have been consistent in their belief that FIFA voted for Qatar as a summer host and that it should remain as such. Otherwise, they argue, there should be a revote. The European Professional Football Leagues and the European Clubs Association proposed an alternative schedule, from 5 May to 4 June, arguing the temperatures would be no worse than some of those encountered in Brazil last summer or the USA in 1994.
What will happen to the domestic football schedule?
The traditional English Christmas programme will be impossible, though it remains unclear at this stage whether the Football League will also have to shut up shop for the period.
What happens now?
The recommendation goes before the FIFA executive committee in Zurich next month, which is almost certain to ratify it. The ECA and the EPFL will continue their opposition. The Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Scudamore, has been outspoken in his opposition and will continue to argue the case and detailed horse trading over any further concessions will begin.
But given that UEFA has welcomed the move as being in the interests of players and fans, it is hard to see where the clubs can go from here – unless they take the nuclear option of seeking a breakaway and sparking all out civil war. Scudamore, who was on Fifa’s task force, said he felt “a little bit let down” by UEFA.
Who else will be affected?
Leagues and competitions across the world will be affected for three seasons – 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 – because of the knock-on effects of starting the season containing the World Cup early and ending it late. Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the former head of the Chilean FA who led the FIFA inspection team before the World Cup vote, has calculated that 50 leagues across the world will be affected.
Are there any upsides?
Some fans may prefer the idea of settling down in front of the box to watch a winter World Cup but many will miss the traditional frenzy of the domestic programme.
It could be argued that England’s players will be fresher in December than in June, though the flip side is that they could return burned out for the rest of the season.
Advocates of greater flexibility in the international sporting calendar argue that it opens up major events to new parts of the world.
