So, the ECA came up with a brilliant suggestion: the 2022 World Cup should be held in May of that year. Because in May it ain’t that hot yet, they say … A good idea on the face of it.
Because heat is not nice, for sure not.
Just think of Mexico’s World Cup in 1986 when the average temperatures in June were around 30+ degrees.
Or the Atlanta Summer Olympics eighteen years ago, with their humid subtropical climate, that hosted a record 197 nations during a time when highs typically hit 90 degrees Farenheit (approx. 32.2 degrees Celsius) along with withering humidity. Combine that with the threat of lightning from 26 thunderstorm-days each summer, and you had a city that could be roasting athletes rather than hosting them.
Or think of the FIFA World Cup in the USA in 94 and the 35 degrees Celsius in Pasadena in June or the average temperature above 32 degrees in Orlando.
But putting all of that aside, and considering that the ECA mean well, and that they came up with an (almost) original suggestion, one that is not solely heat-related, we suggest they should think again.
May 2022, really?
We all know that May ’22 won’t work, so why suggest it, ECA?
Ramadan is the Holy Month. Every year, it starts ten days earlier than the preceding year. So, we checked and found that in 2022, Ramadan will start April 3 and last until May 2. Eid al Fitr starts May 3, which means that the subsequent 10 or so days are High Holiday.
All of the above really means that between the first days of April 2022 (when preparations would have to be pretty intense) and 3 May 2022, no-one will be at work. So much for that then.
And after Ramadan, for another week or ten days, no-one works either, given that it is a High Holiday…
Hence, the earliest date that can be considered for teams to arrive and prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is really May 10, 2022. With the two weeks of acclimatisation time that is required, the earliest start would be at the end of May/beginning of June.
In other words: a Summer World Cup.
Well thought out ECA.
Next.