The FIFA Worldcup is a quadrennial tournament that's held during the summer (June - July). The host selection process is based on a continental rotation whereby the host country must be drawn from a confederation that didnt host the two previous editions. So come 2022, Ceteris Paribus!, it will be Asia's turn, Qatar's will host the one month festivities.

However FIFA has created a pitfall - The weather in Qatar during the summer has been a concern with temperatures reaching more than 50°C (122 °F), But backed by oil money the Qataris are planing on doing the unthinkable by installing Air conditioning systems inside all the stadiums.

Qatar bid's chief executive, Hassan al-Thawadi said "Heat is not and will not be an issue."

The Qatar 2022 Bid's official site also explains:

"Each of the five stadiums will harness the power of the sun rays to provide a cool environment for players and fans by converting solar energy into electricity that will then be used to cool both fans and players at the stadiums."

"When games are not taking place, the solar installations at the stadiums will export energy onto the power grid. During matches, the stadiums will draw energy from the grid. This is the basis for the stadiums’ carbon-neutrality. Along with the stadiums, we plan to make the cooling technologies we’ve developed available to other countries in hot climates, so that they too can host major sporting events."

But the Creme' D'La Creme of the World football governing body are having none of that as they have all suggested that the tournament be shifted to Winter where average temperatures in Qatar are markedly cooler in December, with highs of 24 degrees Celsius and lows of 15 degrees.

Franz Beckenbauer, a member of FIFA's executive committee, said Qatar could be allowed to host 2022 World Cup in winter. He justified his proposal on grounds that Qatar will be saving money, which otherwise they would have spent in cooling the stadiums. Beckenbauer said

"One should think about another solution. In January and February you have comfortable 25 °C (77 °F) there," he said. "Qatar won the vote and deserves a fair chance as the first host from the Middle East." If Mr Beckenbauer knows Qatar too well, he should know that 14% of Qatari households are dollar millionaires hence money cant be a problem.

My ultimate concern is if the world cup is brought to the winter months, what happens to the European calendar where December is usually the busiest month especially in the English Premier League.

However my doubt was quickly cleared by FIFA Vice President and UEFA President Michel Platini when he indicated that he was ready to rearrange the European club competitions accordingly. GBAM!


And Yesterday, the most important man in world football - FIFA President Sepp Blatter reiterated his desires for Qatar 2022 winter switch.

In his words: "The World Cup must be a festival of the people. But for it to be such a festival, you can't play football in the summer," Blatter told a conference in Kitzbuehel, Austria.

"You can cool down the stadiums but you can't cool down the whole country and you can't simply cool down the ambience of a World Cup. The players must be able to play in the best conditions to play a good World Cup."

Its been estimated that the the World Cup is going to cost Qatar approximately £138 billion ($220 billion USD). This is about 60 times the $3.5 billion that South Africa spent on the 2010 FIFA World Cup. So after dishing out these zillions of naira what advantage does the Qatari National team have?

If the Fifa winter worldcup mission is successful then what home advantage are the Arabians going to enjoy? of the 46 players that's been called up to the Qatari National football team in the past one year, only 1 player plays outside the Qatari stars league - so therefore the Al-Annabi are best suited to the extreme conditions but FIFA is taking their home advantage away from them.

Moreover the fortunate players that will partcipate in the 2022 world cup party should be able to take interesting stories back home to their family and friends, just like how most players ranted about vuvuzela in south africa, Almost all the teams that will participate in the 2018 FIFA world cup will nag about freezing conditions in Russia... What are they going to remember Qatar for?

Well i can have a Volte - Face as the 2022 draws nearer especially with medical information about the effects of the heat on players health.. Two doctors from Qatar's Aspetar sports hospital in Doha actually gave an interview in November 2010 saying that the region's climate would "affect performance levels from a health point of view" of professional athletes, specifically footballers, that "recovery times between games would be longer" than in a temperate climate and that, on the field of play, "more mistakes would be made".

Even at that, i still dont think there would be any casualty if the world cup stays in the summer. According to history, records and statistics - footballers have gone to more daring places like la Paz and all came out alive.

What i expect FIFA to do is starting Training regimes on heat acclimatization and regulations to world cup participants about a month or two before the world cup, All participating teams should build up their level of training in hot weather. Such preparation intends to improve performance and reduce the potentially fatal risk of heat stroke.. but if at that, a casualty is still registered at the Qatar 2022 summer FIFA world cup!.. then C'est La vie

Sepp Blatter and his goons should just leave Qatar alone!


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