Qatar 2022: What impact will first winter FIFA World Cup have?
Friday 20 March 2015 11:45, UK
FIFA has confirmed the 2022 World Cup will be held in November and December, a move which will disrupt as many as 700 domestic league and cup games across Europe and the United States.
The new dates, which see the 28-day tournament conclude with a December 18 final, were proposed by the head of the Qatar 2022 taskforce before being approved by the FIFA Executive Committee.
With FIFA president Sepp Blatter expected to announce the official start date on Friday afternoon the true extent of the alterations are yet to be confirmed.
But, with that in mind, just how much of an impact will the switch from the summer have on domestic football schedules around the world?
We have looked at the major European leagues, as well as the MLS, and compiled the amount of games affected by the change.
England
Premier League – 70
Championship – 83
League Cup – 4
Total - 157 games
- League One, League Two and FA Cup second-round fixtures have not been taken into account as these are likely to go ahead as planned.
Scotland
SPFL – 30
Cup 32
Total – 62 games
Spain
La Liga – 59
Cup 14
Total – 73 games
Italy
Serie A – 60
Cup – 8
Total – 68 games
Germany
Bundesliga – 62
Cup – 0
Total – 62
The substantial winter break currently observed in Germany from Dec 22 to Jan 29 means the Bundesliga could be halted for three months.
France
Ligue 1 – 68
Cup – 52
Total – 120 games
The French football calendar sees a large amount of cup games scheduled for November and December, meaning 44 French Cup games and 8 League Cup matches would need to be rescheduled.
UEFA Competitions
Champions League – 48
Europa League - 72
Euro qualifiers – 26
Total – 146 games
United States
MLS Regular season – 0 (March – Oct)
MLS Play-offs & MLS Cup – 11 games
The MLS regular season, which runs from March to October, would not be affected by the winter tournament. FIFA international release dates for a World Cup stipulate players have to be released from clubs 22 days before the start.
MLS Playoffs and MLS Cup game, which usually take place from the end of October to the start of December, will have to be rescheduled.
