CONCACAF offers support to 2022 World Cup change to winter start

CONCACAF, the soccer arm for North and Central America, voiced its support to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being moved from summer to winter.

More from Soccer

CONCACAF’s got your back, Qatar.

As the nation begins preparations for moving the 2022 World Cup from summer to November and December, CONCACAF, the governing arm for soccer in North and Central America, announced its support for the change, citing health and safety reasons:

"Considering the welfare of our players and fans as the main priority, CONCACAF fully supports the recommendation made by the special task force to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar in the November-December timeframe. Ultimately, the decision to hold the event in winter shall be ratified in Zurich on the 19th and 20th of March, after a thorough analysis by FIFA’s Executive Committee"

Those wondering why FIFA officially suggested on Tuesday to make the move, here’s six little words for you:

QATAR IS DAMN HOT IN SUMMER

Those of you who endure the heat and humidity of the deep south or yap about the summer heat in either Arizona or Nevada would look like wimps compared to the “relative warmth” of Qatar, where temperatures can reach as much as 122 degrees during the summer.

Oh, that’s just the outside temperature. It’s not hard to envision that on-field temps on the pitch would exceed 130 degrees. No matter how well an elite soccer player prepares, that kind of heat would increase the chance for disaster for both players and fans.

You try running up and down a field in that kind of environment in the peak of afternoon.

“If this World Cup is to become a party for the people, you can’t play football in the summer,” FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in July 2013. “You can cool down the stadiums but you can’t cool down the whole country.”

Weather has been one of the problems that has hamstrung the nation since last year, when it received the bid to host the World Cup. Allegations of corruptions were finally squashed in November, while a series of deaths involving construction workers also cast a pall over the process.

Temperatures will be more friendly in November and December, where daytime highs normally peak out at 75 degrees, with nightly temps hitting an average of 55.

There should be little opposition to the move, as FIFA’s executive committee will ratify the move when they meet next month, at which point Qatar would finally just prefer to focus on counting down until 2022.

More from FanSided

Home/Soccer