A winter World Cup

IT’S looking increasingly likely that the Qatar 2022 World Cup will be held during the winter months in order to avoid the competition being held in the extreme summer heat of the Middle Eastern country.

The move will likely anger not only traditionalists but also football clubs all over the world as a winter World Cup would mean huge disruption to domestic leagues.

A meeting of a FIFA task force has returned the two best options in order to avoid the blistering heat of June and July, the months in which the World Cup is traditionally played. The first option is to hold the World Cup in January and February of 2022, and the second option is to hold the event in November and December of 2022.

But football clubs have asked FIFA to consider holding the event in May, despite the blistering heat at that time of year. In May, average temperatures in Qatar are in the high-30s Celsius. June and July normally see temperatures hitting the low 40s. On the other hand, January, February, November and December usually average around the low to mid-20s mark.

This Monday, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said: “We are getting closer to narrowing the dates for the FIFA World Cup to two options – January/February 2022 or November/December 2022 – but FIFA has also been asked to consider May 2022.

“We will summarise what we’ve heard today and provide feedback to all parties in order for them to prepare for the next meeting as we progress towards a final decision.”