World Cup 2022: What is the Best Solution to the Heated Debate over Qatar?

There are still nine years to go before Qatar is to play host to the Fifa World Cup. The controversy over that most unorthodox of choices, however, has already begun: and for those concerned, it is a question of heat. 

Average temperatures in the Arabic kingdom for June and July—the traditional staging window for the international festival of football—top out at a sweltering 41°C (106°F), clearly far too extreme for professional sport to be played out in any meaningful capacity.

Nor would a switch to evening kick-offs, a system often used by tropical nations, be a viable option. 

Difference in time zones means that night matches would start at around 8 or 9pm in Europe, not in itself a problem. But the impossibility of staging daytime fixtures would result in a horrendous backlog, resulting in several matches beginning simultaneously and hurting the chances for television spectators to watch much of the competition. 

At USA 1994, the staggering of matches to avoid extreme heat worked well due to the vastness of the country and the ability to schedule games across timezones.

The tiny kingdom will not have the same luxury.

In any case, with evening temperatures still hovering around 35°C (95°F), the difference to players and spectators on the ground in Doha will be minimal. 

In that case, alternatives have to be found if the Qatar World Cup is to avoid becoming an expensive fiasco. 

As the Daily Mail revealed, the original plan of using air-conditioned stadia was quietly dismissed by architects back in 2011.

Populous director John Barrow ruled out the mass installation of aircon in favour of what he dubbed cheaper, old-fashioned methods; however, aside from wind towers that suck up heat and sound neither cheap nor traditional, the architect was vague on what the solution could be. 

Maybe a move to winter, when the searing heat relents, could be the answer. 

Not for Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore. As reported by Sky Sports, the English football chief slammed the idea, fearing it could completely disrupt domestic and Champions League calendars: 

"

They've decided to hold the World Cup in the summer in Qatar and that's their decision.

If that is deemed to be not possible, for whatever reasons Fifa decide and that is their decision not ours as to where they hold the World Cup, then they need to either move the location if it can't be held in the summer or we can't just on a whim decide to move it to winter, that's a very different issue.

The international football calendar is one that has to be consulted through; it is not something Fifa can just decide because the whole of world football has an interest in that.

"

While Scudamore could possibly be accused of engaging in a touch of Schadenfreude after England saw their bid for 2022 lose out to the Asian nation, his concerns have been reflected across European football.

The Daily Mail reports that representatives of the English, Spanish, Italian, German and French leagues penned a joint letter to Fifa president Sepp Blatter, warning him that any move to switch the World Cup to winter would be fiercely resisted. 

With the vast majority of football's global stars playing in those five leagues, the prospect of a clash between Fifa and domestic football associations would threaten to make a farce out of Qatar 2022. 

The world governing body will not back down over their decision and risk losing face after they took the risk to pick Qatar. The show will go on.

And with nine years still left before the first ball is even kicked, there is no doubt the oil-rich kingdom has plenty of time (and resources) to find a suitable solution: perhaps incorporating Barrow's ideas, literally sucking heat out of the stadiums to create an atmosphere conducive to high-class football. 

They would be advised to start thinking now, though. Football's powerhouses, led by the Premier League's Scudamore, are on the warpath after hearing about the winter plans and until a practical solution is found, the Qatar World Cup will continue to be a (ahem) hot topic.