2022 World Cup will be held between November 21st to December 18th

CAIRO – 13 July 2018: The next World Cup will be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 to be the first World Cup to be held in Winter, but has not yet confirmed how many teams.

"The dates of the World Cup are decided; it will be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022. All the leagues’ officials are informed and will have to adapt their calendars accordingly, in the end, it is the right decision,” Gianni Infantino , FIFA president , told a news conference held at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on Friday .

Infantino reported that what is not yet confirmed is how many teams will participate. The South American Confederation proposed that for this edition be extended to 48 teams, as it will be in 2026, but the FIFA Council decided to transfer that request to the Qatari organizers.

“For now it’s 32, but a decision has not been taken yet," Infantino replied abruptly when asked about the make up of the Qatar tournament.

“Well, it is too early to start speculating about that,” said Infantino. “We have of course already spoken to Qatari delegation and we will continue to have that dialogue.

Everybody is open-minded about this. We are engaging in a frank and open debate. There is no prejudice there, there is no precondition for that. We have contracts with Qatar which are the basis of our conversation. We would be very happy with a World Cup with 32 teams as previously established, but if all are involved, beginning with the Qataris – and they could insist on having agreed on a 32-team format – that would be great in itself, but if everybody comes on board and everybody agrees that it might positive to change this format then we can have a look at it.”

Some reactions on the new dates of the next World Cup:

FIFA’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar will take place between November 21st and December 18th. The World Cup has always been a welcomed spectacle during a long football free summer, rather than an interruption of the football season. Darn shame we have to wait 8 years.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 13, 2018

FIFA confirming that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played from November 21 to December 18.

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) July 13, 2018

World Cup 2022 ends on December 18.

Premier League restarts on December 26.

I mean, football's great and all but this sounds very bad.

— Alex Shaw (@AlexShawESPN) July 13, 2018

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will officially take place between 21st November and 18th December!

Be very strange watching a World Cup in winter not to mention the break in our domestic leagues.

— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) July 13, 2018