FIFA confirmed long-held suspicions that the organization was on the cusp of a major change for the 2022 World Cup, with a task force formally targeting November/ December as the most viable period for the worldwide tournament in a move to dodge the summer heat in Qatar. The proposed event dates have the full support of all six Confederations, according to the organization, and the shift will be discussed at the next meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee, scheduled to take place from March 19-20. The recommendation comes after various proposals for alternative dates to June/July for the 2022 FIFA World Cup were discussed.

According to the release, “Given that the two bidding cities for the 2022 Winter Olympics – Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China PR) – pledged recently to host the winter games from 4 to 20 February 2022; that the month of Ramadan begins on 2 April in 2022; and that consistently hot conditions prevail from May to September in Qatar, the only remaining effective option is the November/December window. For legal reasons, the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup must be played within the calendar year 2022.”