FIFA World Cup: Why Qatar 2022 will be a winter tournament instead of being held in summer

The FIFA World Cup 2022 for the very first time is coming to the Middle East region with Qatar being the first gulf nation to host the mega event.  The decision to host FIFA World Cup 2022 was part of FIFA's pledge to stage at least one major international tournament in the region before 2030. While the Qatar 2022 tournament faced lot of objections, FIFA still decided to go ahead with the tournament in the Middle East nation.

FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022 tournament to be played in the winter 

Qatar was chosen by FIFA over rival bids from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the USA during the final vote in 2010. While the FIFA World Cup is usually played in summer the Qatar 2022 event will be played in winter. The main reason behind the decision was due to soaring summer temperatures in the country. According to a report by Sportingnews.com excessive heat in Qatar, with even average temperatures at the end of April reaching around 92 F (33 C). The  Winter temperatures in Qatar, and specifically in the Doha region, average between 70-77F (21-25 C), compared to over 100 F (37 C) in the region's summer. 

FIFA World Cup 2022 Draw

Group A: Qatar (hosts), Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands

Group B: England, Iran, United States, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine

Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland

Group D: France, Peru/Australia/UAE, Denmark, Tunisia

Group E: Spain, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Germany, Japan

Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia

Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon

Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

FIFA World Cup 2022 fixtures

The tournament kicks off on Monday, November 21 and will be wrapped up in less than a month with the final tabbed for Sunday, Dec. 18. The Group stage of the FIFA World Cup will be played between November 21 to December 2. Following the completion of the Group stage, the Round of 16 clashes will be played from December 3-6. The Quarterfinals stage of the tournament will be played from December 9-10. The Semifinal matches will be played on December 13-14, while the third-place match and Final will be played on December 17 and December 18 respectively.