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Qatar 2022: Christmas shopping just got easier and your liver will be thankful - reasons for fans to welcome a winter World Cup

And a few reason why combining football with Christmas isn't a great idea

Tuesday 24 February 2015 15:15 GMT

A winter World Cup in 2022 now looks as inevitable as a family argument on Christmas Day - it's going to happen.

It has looked likely since the day the tiny Arabic nation was pulled from an envelope by Fifa president Sepp Blatter, confirming that the nation with no history of football had won the right to host the beautiful game's jewel in the crown.

A Fifa task force has now officially recommended the tournament be switched from it's traditional slot in the summer months to November and December, with the final potentially being played two days before Christmas Day.

If the move is ratified by Fifa's executive committee in March then disruption across so many levels will be confirmed.

But is a winter World Cup that combines football with Christmas all bad? We take a look at some of the pros and cons for fans...

The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

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1/10The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

PRO: Your liver will thank you

In a World Cup year your liver is put through two demanding ordeals - one during the tournament and another in the regular Christmas holidays slot. Combining the two will mean just the one spell of punishing prolonged excessive drinking in 2022.

Liam Brown

The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

CON: England will make Christmas depressing

Perhaps Harry Kane will be the best player on the planet and inspire England to their first tournament win since 1966. But chances are neither of those things will happen, England will knocked out and their exit will put a downer on the traditional festivities.

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The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

PRO: Less rubbish Christmas television

A heavy schedule of World Cup fixtures will force broadcasters to sideline much of the guff they usually show at Christmas, meaning you won't have to sit through yet another re-run of Love Actually as Peru vs Qatar will be on instead.

Rex

The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

CON: Family relations will take a battering

Christmas is a time for families to come together - but football lovers will be compelled to shun their grandmas in order to watch Ecuador vs Iran.

Rex Features

The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

PRO: Christmas shopping just got easier

A trip to the shops in the run-up to Christmas is an ordeal - but with half the population in front of the TV, snapping up those football-themed stocking fillers for your loved ones will be a breeze.

ANDREW COWIE | AFP | Getty Images

The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

CON: The true meaning of Christmas

The real meaning of Christmas becomes more diluted with every passing year so having the nation more focused on the metatarsal status of England's crocked star striker than the birth of Jesus Christ is unlikely to improve matters.

The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

PRO: Domestic games in the sun

Everyone loves those early and late games of the domestic season when the sun is out and you can go to the football in shorts and T-shirt. Due to the schedule overhaul needed to accommodate the tournament, there will be lots more summer games. Get the flip flops at the ready.

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The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

CON: Fan parks

If the 2014 instalment of the World Cup showed us anything, it's that we love a fan park. Images of Americans gathered in their thousands to watch Clint Dempsey 'do a soccer goal' were a highlight of the tournament. But gathering in front of a big screen won't seem so appealing when it's freezing cold.

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The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

PRO: Simon Cowell will be denied

A generic Christmas No 1 by the latest X-Factor clone has become almost as inevitable as turkey on your plate on Christmas Day. Surely a football themed Christmas song could beat it in the unique year of 2022? Bob Geldof has probably already started re-writing the lyrics to Do They Know It's Christmas (again).

Getty

The pros and cons of a winter World Cup for fans

CON: January will be double depressing

After the high of Christmas, January tends to be a depressing time of year. But add the World Cup excitement on top and the first month of 2023 is already looking bleak.

Rex

Do you think a winter World Cup is such a bad thing? Let us know in the comments below...

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