The 2022 World Cup will be played in winter for the first time in the competition’s history.
The upcoming edition of the tournament will be the 22nd World Cup and Qatar becomes the first nation in the Middle East to serve as host.
That has meant a shift to a winter schedule, which has not gone down well with many fans and which has had knock-on effects for other football competitions.
The build-up has also been dominated by significant controversy over Qatar’s record on human rights, the deaths of thousands of migrant workers in the years since the Gulf state was awarded the World Cup, and the treatment of LGBTQI+ people.
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The bidding process for the 2022 World Cup began in 2009, with potential host nations asked to submit their proposals in the February of that year. Fifa received bids from Qatar, USA, Australia, South Korea, and Japan, which were then voted upon by the 22 members of the Fifa Executive Committee in December 2010.
Two members of the Executive Committee, Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, were suspended in the run-up to the vote amid allegations of corruption. Despite being graded by Fifa as having “high operational risks”, the Qatar bid received the most votes, beating the USA’s proposal 14-8 in the final round.
Later, there were allegations that fees were paid to two members of the Fifa ExCo in exchange for their votes – they were denied by those involved.
2022 World Cup group stage draw
- Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
- Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales
- Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
- Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
- Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
- Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
- Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
- Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Why was the tournament moved to winter?
As soon as the tournament was awarded to Qatar, concern grew about the welfare of players and fans due to the intense heat the nation experiences in summer. The average daily temperature in Doha in July is a high of 42 degrees Celsius and a low of 31.
That led a Fifa task force to recommend moving the World Cup to winter, with Fifa confirming the shift afterwards and then announcing an official schedule in 2020. The decision has affected leagues across the world this season, with English football’s calendar beginning earlier and finishing later than usual in order to accommodate the six-week break needed to accommodate the tournament.
2022 World Cup schedule
- Group stage: 20 November – 2 December
- Round-of-16: 3-6 December
- Quarter-finals: 9-10 December
- Semi-finals: 13-14 December
- Third-place play-off: 17 December
- Final: 18 December
What changes have been made to accommodate the temperature in Qatar?
The temperature remains very high even in winter months in Qatar, with average highs of 29 Celsius in November and 25 in December.
That means seven of the eight open-air stadiums which will host matches during the tournament are air conditioned, using a system designed by engineer Saud Abdulaziz Abdul Ghani of Qatar university.
Jets will push cool ait out pitch-side and under the seats of spectators, in a system powered by solar panels in the desert outside Doha.
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