Qatar 2022: A Blessing in Disguise for English Football?

I have been very vocal about FIFA and the decision to reward Qatar with the 2022 World Cup. Recently though, it has been confirmed that the first Winter World Cup will be in the offing with the final being played on the 23rd December. This decision has been heavily criticised (and rightly so) but could this be a blessing in disguise for English football? 

For so long, football divisions across the world have been disrupted to make way for the greatest footballing spectacle in the world, now FIFA have proposed a Winter World Cup - slap bang in the middle of the Premeir League season. This has outraged many English fans, but I personally believe that it could serve English football well.

Every year, the 6 Nations kicks off in the middle of the Guinness Pro12/Top14/Aviva Premiership season, meaning that rugby clubs have to say good bye to their star players as they go off to represent their country. It's a nuisance, but no one bats an eyelid. It is often a nervy time, but exciting, as coaches have to call some younger players to fill the void left by the internationals. This is a scenario in which football clubs could lock horns with, and I very much hope the FA continues the season while the World Cup is on. 

Currently in the Premier League, it is only the very best youth prospects, the crème de la crème, that will get game time. I can see fans getting very upset at the thought of the Premier League being disrupted and I sympathise with them, to an extent. This provides the perfect opportunity for teams to use rotational players, and they could stake a claim for a first team spot. 

Several weeks ago, I was watching an U21 match between Manchester United and Chelsea. On the Chelsea side there were no household names, and by this I mean names that people will not of heard of (excluding Chelsea fans for obvious reasons.) I was amazed at some of the talent on show from that side. It also made me wonder, what would happen if these players got more first team action? There is definitely talent in the youth ranks, it just needs nurtured and developed.

However if this scenario comes true, it would be likely for the FA to raise the amount of registered players. This has both pros and cons. It would allow clubs to register more of their youth players for the league, but on the otherhand, others may take this as an opportunity to spend more money in order to add strength and depth to their sides. Can you really blame them? I think the proposals made by FIFA will offer short term pain but long term gain for English sides.

Unless there is a massive power change, the top sides will only be affected. If 2014 World Cup was played in November/December 2014, Manchester United would have the most players missing (14). Chelsea would have had 12 players missing, while Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City would have had 10 players each called up. I think we could agree that these clubs are among the top clubs in England and would have sufficient players on their books to fill the void left by the departures. We must also consider that 'injuries' could occur meaning that players may not be able to travel, giving them time to recover at home and chances are, that may make a miraculous recovery in time for the league games.

Following on, it may make the league more interesting. Weaker teams battling relegation may see this as a prime time to pick up lucrative points facing the stronger sides who have been weakened by the Winter World Cup. The club managers would really earn their money then. I have regularly emphasised my point that Southampton have been a revelation this year. Undoubtedly they would have key players missing, but not to the extent of the other sides. A team in Southampton's position could mount a serious charge for European football in 2022.

A Winter World Cup would throw up an abundance of trials and tribulations for English football. While this article definitely has a 'glass is half full' taste to it, I still think it is despicable that FIFA can award such competition to a nation who cannot even keep their word on when it would be played. As the saying goes, every cloud certainly has it's silver lining.

A Step Too Far for FIFA?

When Qatar was announced as the hosts of the 2022 World Cup, it caused a tremendous amount of controversy and now with recent influential football figures backing the proposal for it to clash with the Winter Olympics, the feud could spark into life again.

I remember in 2010 being told that the World Cup was being held in Qatar, and looking towards my friends with a quizzical appearance and in my naivety and adolescent nature retorted with the sentence, "I thought a guitar was a musical instrument?" From that short anecdote, I am sure you can tell that what I am about to write will not be showing any great faith in the actions of FIFA with regards to the allocation of the 2022 World Cup.

In fairness to Qatar, if they can pull of stadiums
like this, then they deserve some credit

To begin with, how Qatar were ever elected hosts of the World Cup ahead of Australia and the USA is beyond me. As far as I can see, both of these nations would be better equipped to host the tournament than Qatar. Australia and the US already has quality fully developed stadiums from hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2003 and 1994 World Cup respectively, including the Suncorp Stadium, ANZ Stadium and the Docklands Stadium, all of which hold over 52,000 seats. Likewise, the Americans have little problem with world class stadiums, Sun Life Stadium and Michigan Stadium to name a couple. As we saw from the World Cup past, construction of the stadia in Brazil came under critical analysis from the higher powers in the footballing world, but they decided to persevere, and numerous deaths were caused due to cursory preparations and the pressure that the stadia all had to be ready in time.

We're no more than 8 years from the beginning of the World Cup and already there have been claims that basic human rights denied to the workers. In addition to this, The Guardian newspaper have alleged that identity papers have been taken away from them and that their payments would not be paid on time, or even possibly at all. You'd think that a nation such as Qatar who built all their riches on oil, would be able to part themselves with a few coins and give them to the workers, who are building the stadia to facilitate this momentous event? From where I am sitting, it doesn't appear that this is the case.

Back in March, I wrote a piece entitled, "Will the World Cup be a Success?" in relation to my worries over the World Cup in Brazil, it seems now that I will be doing another one in the future to pen my concerns about it in Qatar. We were very cynical of the 8 deaths in the construction of the Brazilian stadiums, but when rumours sparked that 900 migrants have already lost their lives, FIFA and the Qatari football federation have questions to answer. In the report compiled by The Guardian, it estimates that up to 4,000 workers may die due to inadequate safety regulations and other causes by the time a ball is kicked. Rather selfishly however, FIFA may see this frightening statistic as a dampener on their reputation.


Disregarding the fact that FIFA have given the prized tournament to, in my opinion an unworthy nation, I tepidly applaud them for pushing the motion of staging the World Cup in the winter. Yes it will sent the European leagues' schedules up the left, which Richard Scudamore is arguing, but player safety is paramount and he seems to be neglecting this issue. Even in winter, the middle eastern country gets highs of 24oC, marginally higher than what we get here in Northern Ireland, so you could imagine what the temperature would be like in the peak of summer. It's not just the players that will suffer, the management and spectators alike will. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that alcohol dehydrates, so this doesn't look bright for the English fans who will no doubt have to drown their sorrows with the local beverage.

Controversy surrounds the 2022 host city and things only look like intensifying as the tournament draws nearer, while Australia and USA will be left cursing at how they didn't become hosts of the competition. While Blatter's corrupt regime rules over the world of football, it could be a long time before 'sensible' decisions return to our game.