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The sun rises in the east.
Water is wet.
Gravity binds things to earth.
The World Cup final is in July.
Three of these things are always true, and one of them is now not, as FIFA made official today what we'd long suspected - the final of the 2022 Qatar World Cup is a) still going to be in Qatar and b) going to be played in December, so as to avoid the searing heat of the Qatari desert in summer:
BREAKING: The 2022 #WorldCup Final in Qatar will be played on 18 December pic.twitter.com/1UF6NKf25i
— FIFAWorldCup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 19, 2015
One would think could have been much more easily avoided by not awarding Qatar the World Cup in the first place, but what do I know? I'm not an oligarch or a bribe taker. I'm just a guy who looks at the weather before making decisions about important events.
Anyway, the one maaaaybe-silver-lining to this is that I thought it might encourage Premier League clubs to take a winter break, but this Guardian story seems to pour sand all over that particular set of gears. So, it looks like 2022 will be a hot mess, for those who like a soccer season to flow smoothly without interruption. Thanks, FIFA!