By Samindra Kunti
August 19 – In the latest modification to the international match calendar, FIFA has replaced the September fixtures window with a new window at the end of January 2022 for all confederations with the exception of UEFA.
With international fixtures piling up, and in particular concerns over qualification for the 2022 World Cup, the new window will bring more flexibility to a calendar that needs more options to get games played and provide the required sporting integrity to complete qualifying.
The international match calendar has become fragmented due to the coronavirus shutdown around the world in spring. UEFA was forced to postpone the European Championship and Conmebol also had to alter plans for the Copa America. Concacaf reorganised its whole qualifying process which the Asian Football Confederation has twice pushed dates back as it seeks to conclude its first 2022 World Cup and Asian Cup 2023 qualifying group stage.
As it stands, UEFA’s national associations will still complete their fixtures in September, but in the rest of the world most international matches have been postponed.
The new window with fixture slots on January 24-February 1, 2022 will cut right through the European club season and may cause friction with the continent’s top clubs, who would be under the obligation to release players.
In 2022, the World Cup will be staged in December in Qatar to address the heat that strangles the Emirate in June and July. Clubs could argue that with the winter World Cup there was already more space in the calendar for qualification, but that space was rapidly being eaten into the longer fixtures go unplayed.
The new dates are reminiscent of the previously existing February and August international slots, which were gradually phased out of the match calendar under pressure from the club game.
The new window will in particular help South American governing body Conmebol, which faces a mammoth task to plan the World Cup qualifying campaign. The confederation has maintained that it wants to stick to its marathon format of each country on the continent playing each other home and way. Conmebol is due to meet on Wednesday to consider its plans.
Zurich also confirmed a slot for the African Cup of Nations in January 2022. In June, the Executive Committee of the African Football Confederation (CAF) took the decision to postpone the AFCON to 2022. No exact dates for the tournament in Cameroon have been announced yet.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1714161682labto1714161682ofdlr1714161682owedi1714161682sni@o1714161682fni1714161682