By SBI SOCCER
Having a World Cup played in the summer of a Middle Eastern country proved a feat insurmountable, and FIFA has officially announced its planned fall-to-winter dates for the 2022 tournament.
FIFA revealed on Friday the desired dates for the World Cup that will be held in Qatar seven years from now. The tournament would be staged from Nov. 21 through Dec. 18, which is a total of 28 days and four fewer than normal. The decision to reduce the number of days was made in part to limit European clubs and leagues from disruption since the 2022 World Cup will be taking place in the middle of their seasons.
The final would take place on Qatar’s national holiday, but all of this is still subject to approval of the international match calendar for the 2018-2024 periods.
The extreme heat during the months of June and July spurred the move to a winter World Cup. However, temperatures during mid-November can still reach 86 degrees Fahrenheit in Qatar, according to WeatherSpark. Temperatures drop to the mid-70s through the month of December.
What do you think of FIFA’s planned dates for the Qatar World Cup? Still can’t believe we’re going to be seeing a World Cup in November and December?
Share your thoughts below.
i’m with dalomismo and the imperative voice on this one.
the planned wc in qatar in 2022 makes me sick to my stomach. it seems so obvious that the qatar wc is the result of massive bribes and payouts. to those who abhore this type of behavior the qatar wc stands, to me, like a monument to fifa’s corruption (or something like that). it really, truly makes me sick.
i was actually starting to get the feeling that maybe i didn’t want to watch last year’s wc in brazil. why? it was weird. we all read/heard about it. THE PEOPLE OF BRAZIL were opposed to brazil hosting the wc. why? it had something to do with the fact that, in order to host, brazil had to construct several new stadiums. spend HUGE money. at the same time, maybe their country has other, more pressing problems such as poverty? also, there were some weird stories about brazilian workers DYING while they were constructing the stadiums. falling off high beams? due to unsafe working conditions? this sort of thing.
and ap, above, said there are deaths involved in stadium construction in qatar, also. is that true?
http://www.sbisoccer.com/2015/09/announces-planned-schedule.html#comment-1591379
whatever the wc is supposed to be – a non-political way for the people of the world to get together – it seems to have become the opposite. it’s becoming harder for me, personally, to support such a thing. turning the channel/finding something else to do for a month is starting to sound more and more like a good idea to me, imo.
That picture is…interesting.
“However, temperatures during mid-November can still reach 86 degrees..”
Is this a joke? We held the World Cup in the summer with games in Atlanta, Birmingham, and elsewhere. 86 is a cool day during that time of year in the south, and they have way less humidity. Come on, what is the point in that statement? 86 max temp is too hot to host it?
I believe the point is that the cool months in Qatar are still similar to average temperatures in Atlanta in July (89).
Dare I point out that these tournaments often use night games? And may do so in this case to get games into a somewhat better European and American time slot (as opposed to nighttime here)?
Also, we just played games in Brazil in the 80s in their winter, and the US was in the 90s that summer. The schedule change gets it into a part of the year that is climatologically reasonable.
I get people want it moved, but if reasonable adjustments can be made, why not?
People are harping on the European leagues but this is actually more awkward for leagues like MLS that play calendar year schedules centered on warmer months. For example, 2022 would be playoff time for MLS if no adjustments were made to that schedule (which I assume we would do). But instead we’re talking about rich leagues who go on another half a year with their games, some of which already have winter breaks.
World Cup games during Thanksgiving would be pretty suite. Watching the Lions and Cowboys gets old.
Yeah the subtle side benefit would be that we’d have a few vacation days plus the normal weekends to catch soccer without balancing demands.
Although, when will they be running games from Qatar? I mean with the time difference is this going to be running at like noon or what?
This will pit the World Cup against college football conference championships and nfl. Time for soccer to put up or shut up.
My first response to this comment was, “who gives a fuck?” Because I couldn’t care less about college or pro football. However… I think you’re right – this could be a very interesting experiment.
I don’t rightly care whether the majority of Americans watch soccer or not, but I do find it’s growth and competition with other sports markets to be interesting.
It’s a shame US football will be trounced globally and have to move their schedule to a summer MLS schedule.
Fifa has already paid FOX/US TV off for the schedule change by basically giving them a nobid contract on 2026 so TV will go along with it (of course Advertisers probably will demand cheaper prices as now the WC will compete directly against the NFL).
you will also never get a whole federation like concacaf or EUAFA to boycott as Fifa can manipulate every federation (because they are essential controlled by a group of minnows).
Only hope would be for major federations like Japan, USA, Germany, England, France, Brazil and Germany come together and boycott. If you could get major European powers and even just the USA to go along you could probably force a change.
If it is ever played…. I will not watch a minute.
I admire your sentiment, though hearing anybody who frequents a site like SBI make such a claim is a bit like hearing a herion addict say they’re going to kick tomorrow.
I skipped watching the Beijing and Sochi Olympics for political reasons. Viva principle.
Wow. No sarcasm.
China it was the way Tibet got treated right before the Games, Russia went on a demagogic roll right before their Games, culminating in the anti-gay laws. Setting aside the base cash nexus of the Olympics, the idea is supposed to be a unifying event for all the world, not a platform for obnoxiousness. The more it feels like 36 Berlin the less I am interested. So I skipped.
I skipped watching the Beijing and Sochi Olympics too. The main reason being that I don’t have any enthusiasm for watching Bob Costas build lame drame for tape delayed replays of events the Americans had obviously succeeded at.
This is not how soccer works and you know it Voice. A sorry and cheap argument you are making here.
How are we saying soccer works? When’s the last time one of these got moved after the vote? Heck, there is a time honored tradition of “is _______ ready to host” journalism looking at unfinished construction in the years leading up.
Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to be smart at all to figure out what was talking when Russia and Qatar get sequential World Cups. They are neither the old guard nor the up and coming soccer nations that have hosted most recent World Cups. It was oil money talking loudly.
But if you just plop in the USA instead, you don’t think that doesn’t send a similar message about money talks? It should go forward as-is, and if they are going to re-bid, you open it up to everyone for a vote, follow the process, and ideally they pick some nascent soccer nation like Australia that is not buying it and will help spread the gospel, as opposed to “make money.”
The whole problem here continues to be the emphasis of the cash nexus. Same thing in college sports, to me. Too much money.
Look I’ll be fine with it move it or not. I just think some of the anti-Qatar arguments end up being subtly for another set of powerful interests, still about money.
LoL
Made a similar reference to heroin addiction not long ago and was taken to task. Definitely some truth to it. However…. in a world / political system largely bought/ influenced by massive corporations, I believe the closest thing we have to influence or a “vote” is what we consume- where we spend our money. The best or perhaps only way to kill a corrupted organization is to choke off the blood supply… money. LOVE the game….. and for that very reason will find one of my other interests to pursue that month.
Nicotine.
Harder to kick than heroin.
And how would we know if dalomismo kept to his promise?
Here’s an archaic concept, all the more ludicrous said under a FIFA story… my word is my bond. LoL Right?
But aside from that…… no reason to lie really as I’m sure I’d be in the very slim minority. I’m not looking to be self righteous or start a movement nor condemn other people for watching so much as be congruent with my own principles, thoughts, actions. I’m perfectly content to let others do the same, hoping of course they do the same- not act on mindless impulse, but consider the big picture/cause/effect. Would sure be a wonderful thing in my eyes if it comes to ever holding THAT World Cup… no one showed up. Would be an even better thing if FIFA cleaned their house, found a better way between now and then. And no, Imperative- that doesn’t mean it being in the US. For the purpose of clarity, consistency and precedent, I would rather it was not.
If I was a player, I would not want to play there. It could easily become a target for every terrorist organization in the region and since its in their area… what better opportunity?
I still dont see why US businessman dont just host their own cup summer of 2022. There is a lot of money to be made, why does it have to go through FIFA? Once the dominos fall of a few big countries they will have their cup.
I don’t think this is as far-fetched as it might seem. Honestly, the 2016 Copa America Centenario (now in limbo) was effectively conceived as the same thing. The initial organization was done independently of FIFA, who eventually had no choice but to give their blessing.
Unfortunately, the big problem is that FIFA are the only ones who can compel clubs to release players for international tournaments. And this is not likely to change soon.
What Americans don’t seem to get on this is just because it perhaps shouldn’t be in Qatar doesn’t mean we get to host it instead.
Certainly be great fun to have it here, but…. has nothing to do with my opposition to Qatar. In WC terms, we had it not long ago and others deserve the opportunity. Personally of the bidders, I’d love to see it in Oz- they would be an incredible, deserving host and I would buy my tickets t-o-m-o-r-r-o-w.
Why does FIFA assume that the leagues will go along with them. What is to keep the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga etc. from refusing to release their players? I always thought that club teams hated to release their players for international duty and now FIFA has given them an opportunity to take a stand while pretending to take the moral high ground.
You’d think FIFA would have already coordinated a major schedule change like this with the confederations, which would check with their club leagues, but this whole thing is so bizarre, who knows if that happened.
…because FIFA is the “governing body”
First off, there are rules on callups that force the hand. Responding to precisely your tactic.
Second, I think for some of the recent World Cups they have either pushed up the end of the season or pushed back the start of the next one.
Third, there is a league, cup, Champs League every year. I think only a small set of primarily American fanboys have some soccer-based wish where they’d prefer the umpteenth edition of the league and cup grind to the World Cup. The leagues themselves are just chasing a buck out of it, since I can’t imagine fewer people buy tickets for or watch TV of the EPL just because there’s a one-time winter break.
FIFA does not assume that the leagues will go along with them. Blatter’s ability to maintain professional league support was one of the virtues that Blatter supporters highlighted.
FIFA, wounded as it is, is not so weakened it can no longer command respect. And if we clean house we need to clean values, and a lot of these renegade ideas start to sound like the European Super League alternative to the Champs League that is periodically floated, which is THE EPITOME OF CASH CHURNING AND CYNICISM. Let’s just go ahead and clear out the crap teams giving each little nation its chance, and GET RIGHT TO THE TEAMS “PEOPLE WANT TO SEE.” I am sure some alternative global cup would end up being such a bastardization.
The virtue of the world cup is everyone starts off with a chance, it is relatively global in participation, and participants are picked by a process and not how telegenic or cash-flush they are. Yes, FIFA has gotten corrupt, but let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater. If you want a FIFA successor it has to be as global. It would be a shame if the net result of some breakaway was to splinter the soccer nations into competing factions, even if the initial intent was the laudable notion to clean up world soccer.
it will not happen…with a criminal investigation under way, the Europeans will be more emboldened to break ranks from FIFA and demand a re-vote. A Euro and US alliance and quid pro quo of a England-based WC 2018 and US-based WC 2022 in the summer, satisfies the major players.
If Europe broke off, the WC gets hollowed out. If US broke off, the TV money is gone. Who will be left to play? Africa, Asia and even Lat Am aren’t going to carry the star power or the money to sustain it
… don’t hold your breath; considering the deaths and the monies already spent on infrastructure, I can see no “good reason” why Qatar will not be hosting the 2022 final.
Also, I think Qatar would sue FIFA for every cent in its ample coffers to recover cost already outlaid, if the games were summarily moved.
Too early to call, but should evidence of bribery by Qatari officials be found … there may not be much of a legal leg to stand on.
If it’s proved that Qatar got the WC by buying votes and bribes…… FIFA would be totally justified in pulling the event from them. How could they possibly sue?
FIFA plans its international dates 18,000 years in advance???
And Volke already announced that FIFA awarded the rights to televise the 20120 and 20124 WC to Fox.
… reports are, in an effort to avoid a law suite by Murdock, and similar to the Warner ticket scalping scandal, the broadcast rights were sold to FOX well below their reported market value.
Something else for the authorities to look at, perhaps?
among many things that don’t make sense here; I don’t understand why the January time frame was not used? A good amount of leagues are already off during this time period across the world and the AFC, CAF tournaments have already utilized these times in the past.
Nov-December – every league is in the middle of very important games. terrible decision.
The winter olympics are being held in the Jan-Feb time frame of 2022 and FIFA promised the IOC that it would not compete with winter games.
Too bad. I would actually be pretty intrigued with a tournament over the xmas holidays. With the final the first Saturday of the new year.
No matter how you slice it, The club season is going to be a mess that year. Including factoring in the nickle and dime injuries will now affect both the WC and club season, since there is no down time in between.
Rben, that’s one way to look at it, but another way is to realize that European players will be in mid season form, which might be their peak, and that would make for an exceptional World Cup.
Club seasons may not be shortened, but games will be more intense as teams with more World Cup talent will be forced to work harder against mid and lower tier squads.
How does soccer compete with skating and skiing and gymnastics?
FIFA makes a lot of promises … a continental rotation policy for hosting the WC, fair and honest bid selection process, fair method for selecting seeded teams, selecting only the best refs in the world for the WC, etc. I don’t know what kind of juice the IOC has on FIFA, but somehow THEY’RE able to get FIFA to not put on the WC at the same time as the summer (or winter) olympics.
Juice?
It’s called money.
How well do you suppose the Olympics and the World Cup would do if they were held at the same time in two different parts of the world?
Imagine if they had the 7th game of the World Series in Miami on the same day they had the Super Bowl in LA and the 7th game of the NBA finals in Detroit.
It’s called everybody loses.
That would be a heck of a fun day for sports fans. throw in a morning EPL, or maybe FA cup final and it would be epic.
The regular Fall Sunday is made better for the fans by the addition of early morning soccer action, before the kickoff of the NFL schedule.
Swiss authorities opening up criminal proceedings against Blatter.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/sports/soccer/sepp-blatter-fifa-switzerland-criminal-proceedings.html
I missed that story – thanks for posting.