It has been confirmed by FIFA that the World Cup 2022 will now take place in the winter, effectively ensuring that every major European league will be interrupted during that year, and shortening the entire tournament from the standard 31 days to 28 days.
If the abhorrent human rights violations taking place in Qatar, with workers literally dying in order to build stadiums in time for the event, weren’t enough to convince us that the deal to bring the World Cup to the region was less about them being suitable hosts and more to do with them having struck some sort of business deal with FIFA, then the entire European football calendar being thrown into disarray during that particular year should do it.
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The news was reported by Rob Harris of the Associated Press, who tweeted: “CONFIRMED: FIFA decides 2022 World Cup in Qatar will start November 21 & to be played in just 28 days. Final on Dec 18, Qatar National Day.”
While football fans should certainly be more concerned with the many deaths that have been as a result of migrant workers in Qatar being pushed to dehydration and exhaustion, this latest revelation will stand as yet another reason why Qatar should not have hosted the World Cup in 2022, and it is inevitable that many prominent figures within the Premier League and other football leagues around the world will have something to say about FIFA’s shambolic handling of the event.
