A taskforce for the soccer’s global governing body made the announcement following a meeting in Doha, amid fears that the heat in the country during a traditional summer World Cup would endanger fans and players.
A taskforce for FIFA, world soccer's governing body, recommended after a meeting on Doha on Tuesday that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar take place in November and December.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Marrakech, Morocco, in Dec. 2014.
Christophe Ena / AP
The announcement follows many months of speculation that the tournament would be moved from its traditional summer slot to the northern hemisphere's winter over fears that the searing Qatari summer temperatures would pose a risk to both players and fans.
The tiny Gulf state can soar above 40 degrees celsius (104 fahrenheit) in summer, while November and December temperatures drop to the mid-20s celsius (around 75 fahrenheit), the BBC reported.
It is expected that the recommendation will be ratified at a meeting of FIFA's executive committee in Zurich on March 18-19, the BBC said.
FIFA faced a number of issues when deciding on what date to hold the contest. Not only would a move to winter mean a mid-season break for dozens of domestic league seasons around the world, but they had to avoid clashing with a number of other global sporting and religious events.
Given that the two bidding cities for the 2022 Winter Olympics - Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China PR) - pledged recently to host the winter games from 4 to 20 February 2022; that the month of Ramadan begins on 2 April in 2022; and that consistently hot conditions prevail from May to September in Qatar, the only remaining effective option is the November/December window. For legal reasons, the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup must be played within the calendar year 2022.
A worker cleans the road outside Khalifa sport complex in Doha, Qatar, Jan. 2011.
Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters
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