Full 90: Winter Wonderland in Qatar?

On Wednesday FIFA’s general secretary, Jerome Valcke, reported to a French radio station that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be held during the usual months of June and July. Instead, due to extreme summer heat in Qatar, the 2022 tournament will take place in the winter. Valcke admits that he believes the tournament will take place between November 15th and January 15th at the latest. “If you play between November 15 and the end of December that’s the time when the weather conditions are best, when you can play in temperatures equivalent to a warm spring season in Europe.” Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, has since told the media that Valcke’s comments are not conclusive, rather they are the personal opinion of Valcke.

Women’s soccer league scores big with FOX Soccer, NBC picks up EPL

Thursday it was announced that the National Women’s Soccer League and FOX Sports Media Group have signed a one-year television agreement. As part of the negotiation, FOX Soccer will broadcast a total of nine NWSL matches. This will include six regular season matches and all three playoff matches. The NWSL semifinals are to take place on August 24^th and 25^th with the championship match slated for August 31^st. The NWSL season will be a length of 22 games.