

A proposed soccer stadium in Qatar. (Getty Images Europe)

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar took one step closer to being held in the winter months on Monday when FIFA presented two possible kickoff dates. Spaced roughly 11 months apart, officials suggested scheduling the World Cup in Qatar for either January/February 2022 or November/December 2022.

“This is the first meeting and there will be future meetings on this matter,” President of the Asian Football Confederation Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa said in a FIFA press statement. “As the FIFA Executive Committee has emphasized, the consultation process should not be rushed but instead be given the necessary time to consider all of the elements relevant for a decision. We have made progress at today’s meeting and will continue to work together to find the best solution for football.”

The push to hold the tournament in the winter comes after both players and advocates complained of Qatar’s sweltering summer temperatures that can reach 120 degree Fahrenheit. Most recently, a study showed that even sitting and watching the World Cup could be dangerous.

Officials responsible for bring the tournament to Qatar, however, are confident in their solution — air condition everything.

Tamim El Abed, the Qatar 2022 Technical Project Manager, told Al Jazeera in July:

There have been cooled stadiums in the past. The difference here is cooling stadiums in Doha, these are unprecedented conditions. Apart from the cooled air, we will look at optimizing wall height and roof-opening size as well. Obviously it will be an open-roof event but we will design the stadium from outside in such a way that it keeps hot air out. This will ensure the level of cooling on the field remains at a certain temperature and certain depth to ensure players are encompassed by a comfortable atmosphere all the time.

Many have doubted the technology, however, which will not be able to be tested for at least another few years. In 2011, the firm in charge of bringing the cooling systems to fruition, Populous called the system “notoriously unsustainable.”

“I think you can be more clever. It is about air movement, moisture in the air and it is about temperature at the right time of day,” Populous director John Barrow told delegates at the International Football Arena conference (via the Associated Press). “If we get it right … that is the way ahead.”

The final date of the Qatar World Cup will not be decided anytime before February 2015 when FIFA will meet again. By that time, representatives and various parties have had time to look over how each date would affect “relevant competitions, activities and/or stakeholders,” the FIFA statement says.