Every four years afterthe celebration of itsthen-lastedition, thesoccer fans around the globe prepare themselves to attend the FIFA World Cup. The soccer mainevent turnssummer into the best time of the yearto host it. However, Qatar 2022 willbe a watershedin history: it will be the very first occasion thatthis tournament is going to be heldin the last months of the year.
FromSunday, November 20to Sunday, December 18, the wholeworld’sattention will be set in the Middle East, another reason to consider Qatar 2022 as a historic edition of the FIFA World Cup: never before this region of the globehad hadthe opportunity to host this event.
Fair is to clarify that there is a main reason to break with the traditionkept for 21 editions along 92 yearsin the FIFA World Cup celebration date, and it is just to benefitand protectthe main characters of the show, the players, and every one that will attend Qatar 2022 matches (fans and media). Get to know why.
Why will Qatar 2022 World Cup not be played in June and July?
In December 2010, FIFA has announced that Qatar was going to be the host country of the 22 edition of its World Cup. The Middle East country defeated Australia, the United States, South Korea, and Japan in the election.
One of the soccer community’s first concernsabout celebrating the FIFA World Cup in Qatar was the high temperatures reached in the summer. It is easy to have days even with 132°F (106°F average), simply impossible weather to practice soccer without risking the players, spectators, media, and general staff health.
The first optionto be considered by FIFA to defeat the hot temperatures of Qatari summer was the technology. It was expected that the 2022 World Cup host country could build”a special cooling system on the field and in the stands”. But it could not be enough.
Then, in March 2015, the bomb exploded: FIFA gave up searching for ways to defeat the high temperatures of Qatar during the summer and announced that the 2022 World Cup was going to be played between November and December for the very first time in soccer history.
Qatar 2022 will take soccer main tournament to the Middle East for the first time. (Mikhail Aleksandrov\TASS via Getty Images)
The expected temperatures during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
If playing the World Cup between the last months of 2022 was the unique way to celebrate this tournament in Qatar, what will be the temperature be then? This Middle East country deals with days between the 68°F and 86°F in November and December, just 41degrees hotter than the ones that the soccer community lived during the Russia 2018 World Cup.
Another consequence of FIFA’s decision to celebrate Qatar 2022by the end of the year is to have the shortest World Cupsince the one held in Argentina in 1978: just 28 days of action instead of the traditional 32 days.
Qatar 2022 Stadiums will use technology to dissipate heat. (Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
