One of the current events that we discussed during class was Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup. I had not heard much about this so I decided to take a deeper look into it.
Recently FIFA announced that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup. Aside from being the Middle East’s first ever host country, concerns have risen about some of the logistics that come with hosting such a lucrative sporting event. One of the main concerns is the continued debate about hosting an outdoor soccer tournament in the scorching Qatar summer. With average temperatures in Qatar in May soaring to the 125 degree mark, an outdoor World Cup seems nearly impossible.
In Qatar’s bid, the concept of “air conditioned stadiums” was introduced. This innovation would theoretically keep both the players and the spectators cooled despite the open-air stadiums. Not only is this a concern financially, this option seemed questionable, even on scientific grounds. FIFA then sparked an instant uproar in the international soccer community when it introduced the possibility of hosting the famed tournament in the winter; something that has never happened. The cries to maintain the sport and tournament’s tradition are valid ones. However, there are actually more pressing contingency concerns that would arise were this alternative to be chosen.
95% of domestic soccer leagues, of which almost every country has one, are staged in the months of August through to May; for this reason that the tournament has always been staged in June. Moving a tournament of this magnitude to the winter months of December and January, would completely skew professional soccer leagues normal seasons. Would there have to be a two-month hiatus on the league? Would play continue, but the teams with internationally selected players be forced to play on without their stars? At least FIFA and the domestic leagues have another 11 years to figure out what’s best.
