Sports
The international governing body of football is conducting in-depth studies regarding the possibility of making a fundamental modification to the calendar of the 2034 World Cup, scheduled to be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as intentions lean toward postponing the tournament kickoff to January and February of 2035. This direction comes according to press reports published by The Athletic newspaper, in a proactive step that could result in a complete overhaul of the traditional dates for the world's most prominent football tournament. These serious proposals come within the context of the keenness to overcome the hurdle of severely high temperatures in Saudi lands during the summer months, in addition to the definitive desire not to let the tournament's activities overlap with the blessed month of Ramadan, which time expectations indicate will coincide with November and December of the same year 2034. The international federation had tested a similar scenario when it decided to move the 2022 Qatar World Cup to take place in November and December instead of its usual timing in June and July to avoid high temperatures, yet the Saudi edition puts officials in front of an additional dilemma represented by the overlap of dates with fasting, which opens the door to alternative options including early 2035. There is no doubt that organizing the World Cup concurrently with the month of Ramadan will create massive organizational complications, given the influx of massive crowds towards Saudi cities throughout the day, alongside the commitment of players and technical staffs to perform the fasting ritual, which has doubled the complexity of time calculations. Challenges multiply for the competent authorities in light of the World Cup's requirement for a timeframe of no less than five full weeks, especially with the potential tendency of the international sports institution to expand participation and raise the number of teams to sixty-four instead of forty-eight. It is worth noting that FIFA had given official status to the decision of Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup in December 2024, becoming the second state in the Middle East to win this honor after the successful Qatari experience in 2022. In the event that this modification is officially approved, the time interval between the World Cup editions for the years 2030 and 2035 will reach about five full years instead of the usual system consisting of four years. Modifying sports schedules is not considered a new innovation in the history of the beautiful game, as followers recall the decision to postpone the 2020 European Championship matches to the following summer due to the health repercussions of the Corona pandemic.
