FIFA has reportedly set dates for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as the soccer governing body has scheduled the tournament to last from November 21 to December 18, which will be the date of the final match.
The Qatar tournament has been dogged by controversy regarding bribes and other illegal activities and now all that has forced the tournament into winter. The winter start was expected after reports came out that the games could be played in triple digit temperatures if held in the summer. FIFA has been embroiled in scandal and when the tournament was first awarded, the group seemingly had no issues with players having to play in temperatures that could reach over 120 degrees.
That was a ridiculous notion to begin with and now that has forced the group to date the tournament in the winter, which comes right in the middle of the European soccer schedule. According to the NY Times, the calendar was "approved" by the governing executive committee in Zurich. The dates will end the tournament ahead of Christmas and it comes after earlier reports that the group would move the tournament to the winter to avoid the heat of the summer in Qatar.
The Times reports that European teams likely will have to release their players a week before the tournament starts, making it over a full month that those team will be without their players. The European leagues have been against a winter World Cup, but they also have admitted that playing in the summer makes no sense. FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar amid major controversy and there has been more fallout regarding FIFA and the indictments of numerous top officials from earlier this year.