Winter World Cup looks more likely

PLANS to reschedule the 2022 Qatar World Cup to be a November and December tournament are set to be finalised at a FIFA task force meeting this Tuesday (February 24).

For the first time in the competition’s 85-year history, it looks likely that the World Cup will be held during the winter in order to avoid the searing heat of the Qatar summer. Executives from football branches around the world are meeting in Qatar to discuss the change, which will have knock-on effects for worldwide domestic leagues interrupted by the World Cup rescheduling.

FIFA had previously said that they were looking at either a November/December World Cup or a January/February tournament, but insiders have said that the decision had more or less already been made on the former option. The later date would clash with the Winter Olympics. Should the decision be made at this week’s meeting, it will be ratified by FIFA next month.

Head of the FIFA technical inspection team that assessed conditions in all the bidding countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Harold-Mayne Nicholls, told the Independent on Sunday: “You would have to stop more or less 50 leagues all over the world if the World Cup moves to November/December. In my opinion that’s very dangerous. It would cause untold confusion and mean several weeks without any income for the clubs.

“And you are changing an entire culture for the fans. Stopping the leagues in October, which you’d have to do for preparation, and starting again in January after Christmas and New Year, would totally lose any atmosphere.”