Fifa has stated that the 2022 World Cup will be played from 21 November to 18 December, with the tournament in Qatar set to last just 28 days.
Controversy has surrounded the bidding process which led to Qatar being awarded the tournament and the scorching heat that players would have to endure during matches, which regularly top 50C (122F) during the summer months. With that in mind, the World Cup will take place in a host country’s winter for the first time, with the final set to be played on 18 December, which is national day in Qatar.
The dates were agreed in principal back in March, when the Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce said that the Premier League would look to resume its fixtures on Boxing Day, effectively meaning that clubs will be taking a winter break in the 2022-23 season.
“There are seven years to prepare for this until 2022,” Boyce said earlier this year. “I think it could be a tremendous World Cup because I think players will be fresher than they have ever been. It’s going to be 28 days, it’s not a lifetime. It means [domestic leagues] starting three weeks earlier and finishing three weeks later for one year.”
World Cups are typically played over 32 days but it is thought that the reduced timescale is to minimise the impact on participating nations’ domestic competitions, with the tournament scheduled to interrupt every European league.
