It is all but guaranteed now that the 2022 World Cup will be held in winter and not the summer.
On Tuesday a FIFA task force recommended holding the tournament in Qatar in November and December in order to avoid playing in scorching summer temperatures, which regularly surpass 104 degrees. The proposal now faces a vote by the FIFA executive committee to become official, but that's expected to happen at a meeting next month in Zurich.
The November-December timeframe has long been favored by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, and the task force suggested the change because it was considered more "viable" than the April and May dates that were being considered. January was also an option, but could've led to potential conflicts with that year's Winter Olympics in February.
“Given that the two bidding cities for the 2022 Winter Olympics — Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China) — pledged recently to host the winter games from Feb. 4-20, 2022; that the month of Ramadan begins on April 2 in 2022; and that consistently hot conditions prevail from May to September in Qatar, the only remaining effective option is the November-December window,” FIFA said in a statement.
While UEFA has since backed the decision to the move the 2022 World Cup from its usual summer dates, some clubs and leagues in Europe remain unhappy about the decision given that it will require an interruption in their seasons. English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore was among those disappointed with the rescheduling, and said he felt "let down" by UEFA following the decision.
Compensation deals will now need to be agreed upon for affected European clubs and leagues. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the European Club Association chairman, made that clear in the immediate aftermath on Tuesday.
"The European clubs and leagues cannot be expected to bear the costs for such rescheduling," Rummenigge said. "We expect the clubs to be compensated for the damage that a final decision would cause."
CONCACAF also released a statement on Tuesday in relation to the proposed schedule change: "Considering the welfare of our players and fans as the main priority, CONCACAF fully supports the recommendation made by the special task force to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar in the November-December timeframe. Ultimately, the decision to hold the event in winter shall be ratified in Zurich on the 19th and 20th of March, after a thorough analysis by FIFA's Executive Committee."
