From its founding in 1930 roughly 92 years ago, The FIFA World Cup™ has taken place in the summer months of May, June and July. 

It was built that way to fall in between the end and new beginning of most countries’ domestic club soccer seasons, so that players would not have to miss games in order to attend the tournament. 

In 2022, the FIFA World Cup™ will, for the first time, take place in the winter months of November and December, disrupting most countries’ domestic club soccer season’s by landing smack-dab in the middle.

The tournament will start November 21 and run through December 18th. Here’s what that will look like, with the EPL as an example. 

Why, FIFA?

It all really boils down to two reasons, the first of which is simple, while the second of which is more of a knock-on effect that is indirectly related. 

Here, we’re breaking both of them down for you. 

THE PRIMARY REASON THE FIFA WORLD CUP™ IS TAKING PLACE IN THE WINTER

This is the straightforward reason. The 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup™ will take place in the Arab country of Qatar.

And it’s hot in Qatar in the summer. 

There you have it. 

It only takes a simple Google search to find the average summer temperatures in Qatar, and it only takes a beginner’s understanding of the world soccer calendar to understand what a hassle a winter tournament would be, and yet here we are. 

Average Qatari temperatures during this time of the year hover around 108 degrees Fahrenheit, with historical highs peaking at around 120°.

FIFA made the call all the way back in 2015 to hold the tournament in the winter rather than the typical summer. It was a ‘hot’ button issue at the time, with many domestic leagues unhappy with the decision due to the uncertainty and disruption it would cause them.

In fact, a FIFA executive member, Theo Zwanziger, called the decision to play a winter competition in a desert state “a blatant mistake.”

It will still be on the warm side in November and the early stretches of December, however. Temperature averages in those months peak at around 85° – much higher than the average soccer player typically experiences – and Qatar has prepared ahead of time with the unique approach of constructing or renovating eight air conditioned stadiums. 

THE SECONDARY REASON THE FIFA WORLD CUP™ IS TAKING PLACE IN THE WINTER

The second reason we’re seeing a winter world championship is more of an indirect one.

Here, we’ll simply answer the question you’re surely asking yourself – if the move to the winter is complicated and causes traditional domestic soccer disruptions, then why did FIFA decide on Qatar as a host nation in the first place?

And for that, the answer is certainly not nuanced. 

Voting for the host nation of a FIFA World Cup™ takes place actual decades before the tournament itself. As early as 2010, the Sunday Times and the New York Times dropped two bomb-shell reports. 

First, England’s Sunday Times revealed video of a top FIFA official agreeing to sell his vote in favor of Russia rather than England for the 2018 bid, and another selling his vote for money to fund a soccer academy in Australia. Both of these members were removed from the committee before the 2022 bid, but it would hint at what was to come. 

Shortly following the official vote – which, to the shock of the most of the world, awarded the 2018 tournament to Russia over England and the 2022 tournament to Qatar over the USA – the New York Times reported that U.S. prosecutors “explicitly revealed details about money paid to five members of FIFA’s top board ahead of the 2010 vote to choose Russia and Qatar as hosts.”

According to the Times, at least three South American officials were paid to vote in favor of Qatar. Russia ousted England, who only took two of the available 22 votes to host the 2018 tournament. The USA received three votes to Qatar’s 11. 

Why didn’t everyone drop everything right there and redo the vote?

Because legal matters take time, especially ones that cross continental borders. 

It wasn’t until 2015 that a U.S. probe took action on arrest and search warrants against 14 FIFA officials, indicting them in the process. Days after that, Swiss federal prosecutors opened proceedings surrounding the two bids (Swiss, because Switzerland is where FIFA corporate is located). Here’s the official press release from the Swiss government. 

More worrying information continues to roll out, as well. In 2019, The Sunday Times reported that FIFA received $880 million in TV, rights and other payments from Qatar just 21 days before the vote to award Qatar with the 2022 tournament. 

Throughout most of this, Russia, Qatar and FIFA had denied any wrongdoing in terms of the voting bids. Their official explanation as to the desire to host in Russia and Qatar was to bring the beautiful game to new sections of the world, expanding its reach and influence. 

Where do things stand today? Numerous arrests have been made, members of FIFA have pleaded guilty and have had to pay roughly a combined $40 million out of their own pockets. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is being indicted over secret payments, while former UEFA President Michel Platini, after being banned from football by the FIFA Ethics Committee, was arrested in 2019.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup™ in Qatar, however? That will go on as scheduled despite the heat, despite the bribes, despite the scandal and despite the domestic league calendar disruption.