First the World Cup, now its little brother: FIFA has announced that the Qatari summer will be too hot to hold the Confederations Cup in 2021, and the tournament will thus be moved.
The revelation follows FIFA’s announcement that it will break with tradition and hold the 2022 edition of its flagship event in November and December, the northern hemisphere’s winter.
The tournament, which pits the champions of the six regional confederations, along with the hosts and current world champions, has until now been held in the World Cup host country the year before the main tournament.
It is often regarded as a dress-rehearsal for the following year’s big show.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said this week that Qatar would not host the Confederations Cup, which will instead be held in an as-yet unnamed Asian country.
The Association’s decision to hold the Qatar World Cup in the winter months of 2022 has led to protestations from Europe’s domestic leagues, which will have to deal with serious disruptions to their fixture lists that year in order to accommodate the tournament.
Valcke has said that the leagues will not receive any financial restitution for the disruption. “There will be no compensation,” Valcke said. “We are doing nothing which destroys football. There is seven years to reorganize football around the world for this World Cup.”
Another victim of the rejigged timetable will be the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. The biannual tournament is usually held in January and February, but will be moved to the summer of that year so as not to clash with the World Cup.
