The suspense is now (almost) lifted. The 2022 Football World Cup, awarded to Qatar, will not take place on the scheduled date. It will not be played in June and July, as tradition, rule, and even more so economic logic dictates. But, most certainly, in late fall or early winter.
The announcement was made by Sepp Blatter himself. Present in Ulrichen, Switzerland, for an annual charity tournament, the FIFA president admitted to a few reporters who came to meet him that the question of the date of the 2022 World Cup would be at the heart of discussions at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Federation on October 3 and 4, 2013. “And I would be surprised, even very surprised, if the Committee does not take the decision to change the period of the event,” admitted Sepp Blatter.
The FIFA president admitted that such a “revolution” in the calendar would lead to certain adaptations by clubs, national federations and competition partners (TV, sponsors, etc.). But he assured that all components would be involved in the final decision-making.
One question remains: when can FIFA schedule the 2022 World Cup? In Doha, the sporting and political authorities of Qatar have already assured that they will comply with the will and instructions of the international institution. Clearly, they will move the World Cup to the date that the football authorities decide, without daring a single downside.
But finding a favorable time can be a headache. Bringing it forward to spring seems out of the question, with the World Cup coming into direct collision with the end of the national championships and the European Cups. Bringing it forward even further, until January or February 2022, a period considered more favorable in this region of the world, would put it in competition with the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The most likely hypothesis seems to be to postpone the event until November/December 2022. A scenario that the major European clubs refuse en bloc. And for good reason, since they would be forced either to start the national championship without their best players, or to postpone the opening of the season to the end of the year, a situation hardly less catastrophic on a financial level.
In England, the leaders of the Football Federation (FA) have been making numerous statements in recent weeks to urge FIFA to withdraw the organization of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This extreme solution seems difficult to imagine today. But until when ?
