The Winter World Cup Conundrum

The year 2022 is still seven years away but it is already generating a great deal of heat.

Ever since the World Cup for that year was awarded to Qatar in 2012, the event has been lurching from one controversy to another.

FIFA has been accused of taking bribes before awarding the rights to the oil-rich Middle East country; Qatar has been accused of building stadiums with slave labour; and the stifling heat in the Gulf summer has been a burning issue.

While FIFA has vehemently rejected the bribery claims and Qatar has promised to look into its labour situation, the heat issue has stood out like a sore thumb. Even the promise of airconditioned stadia didn’t placate the anti-Qatar brigade.

Now, a solution seems to have been found with the proposal of a winter World Cup, to be held in November and December instead of the traditional June and July. But that has also thrown up more problems.

The European season will be in full swing in November/December and a World Cup around that time would cause chaos in planning.

The truth is no matter what FIFA comes up with, a Qatar World Cup would not be perfect. But when has a major event like the World Cup ever been perfect?

There was opposition to South Africa 2010, but see how it turned out.

FIFA and Qatar have seven years to get this right. They should be given the chance to do it.