A task force set up by FIFA, world soccer's governing body, has recommended what was already the worst kept secret in sports: that the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar will be moved from the heat of its summer to the cooler winter months. FIFA's final decision is expected on March 20 but it's almost a certainty that the Qatar World Cup will be played in November/December instead of the normal June/July. FIFA proposed to move the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from the summer to the winter for spectator safety. During the bidding process, Qatar promised advanced air-conditioning technology that would cool stadiums, training pitches and fan zones to 23C when outside it would be 50C. The problem is that while you can cool down the stadiums, you can't cool down the whole country. There is no doubt the Qataris could organize a tournament where teams could play and train in a stable, acceptable temperature but it's about the fans. They will need to travel from venue to venue - as well as to discover the country - and it's not a good idea for them to do that in boiling temperatures. Of course, the big question remains: Didn't the 24 FIFA officials who voted for Qatar know that Qatar was too hot in the summer for the fans? Qatar has always been hot at that time of the year. It was hot in 2010 when it won the rights to host the cup and it will still be hot during the World Cup in 2022. So how did it take four years after the vote for FIFA to realize it could not hold a World Cup in Qatar in the summer? From the outset of the bidding, why didn't FIFA state that the 2022 edition would be played in the winter? This would have saved a lot of protestations from Europe's domestic leagues which will have to deal with serious disruptions to their fixtures that year in order to accommodate the tournament. FIFA is earning the ire of several high-profile teams and leagues which have all complained of the move. But clubs and leagues around the world have seven years to reorganize their football for the Qatar World Cup, more than enough time to rearrange schedules. If they take a two-week call-up period and four weeks for the competition itself as a starting point, we are talking about a cessation of hostilities across Europe's big leagues from the first week of November to Christmas. Most European leagues already have a winter break that could be moved forward a month to accommodate the finals. A World Cup in November and December might arguably also allow some footballers to do better. All around Europe there is a break at that time; only the English carry on. The lack of a winter break has meant that the national team rarely performs well at big international tournaments after a long grueling season. Germany, which won the last World Cup, took a six-week winter break, from December to January. Over that time, English Premier League teams played seven league matches, plus cup games. A break for them before the World Cup is definitely needed. Premier League clubs sent 105 players to the World Cup in Brazil last year. To a man, they were by the end dragging their feet. A winter World Cup is not unheard of. There have been six World Cup finals hosted during winter months in the southern hemisphere. But everybody knew beforehand they would be played in winter. There would have been scant protest if from the outset we had known that the 2022 edition would be played in winter, whichever country won the bid.
