The FIFA saga is nowhere near over, but the governing body has announced the 2022 World Cup will move forward with being held in Qatar – in November and December.
According to the Washington Post, FIFA finalized the dates of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which in March, the world soccer governing body ordered to take place in the winter after worries surfaced about the dangers of the Middle Eastern country’s summer heat.
The quadrennial tournament is set to kick off on Nov. 21 and run through Dec. 18 in a condensed 28-day time frame so as to cause the least upheaval in several world professional leagues, including top European leagues such as the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and more.
The tournament, which usually runs four days longer, will still require clubs to be disrupted for more than a month, however, as the schedule demands players be able to practice with their national teams for at least one week prior to the tournament’s kickoff. That means, club play will have to halt no later than Nov. 14, according to ESPN FC.
FIFA’s executive committee made the decision on Friday amid news of a rising scandal pertaining directly to the organization’s president Sepp Blatter.
Meanwhile, the FIFA scandal continues to swirl. Last week, Switzerland’s attorney general opened up a criminal inquiry against Blatter on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of FIFA funds. The new charges follow recent statements made by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who is heading up a separate U.S.-led investigation into a $150 million bribery scandal of FIFA.
Last month, Lynch said she anticipates “being able to bring additional charges against individuals and entities,” although she did not name Blatter specifically.
There are no comments
Please login to post comments