World Cup 2022.. Unusual schedule and repercussions for European championships

The 2022-2023 football season in the European championships will not be normal, as clubs must adapt to the forced and exceptional period of suspension, during the Qatar World Cup from November 21 to December 18.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who contributed greatly to winning the Champions League for the 14th time in its history, enhancing his record, said, "The World Cup in Qatar will make this season more intense than any other."

The championships of England, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Portugal have started so far, and the championships of Spain and Italy will join them next week.

The activity in all these tournaments will stop at the end of the week of November 12 and 13, to allow the players participating in the football wedding to join their national teams before the opening match scheduled for the 21st of it.

The World Cup concludes on December 18, with the English Premier League resuming its activity eight days later, specifically “Boxing Day” on the 26th of it.

The Spanish League train returns on December 31, while the French League has abandoned the pause between Christmas and New Year and the teams will play matches on December 28 and January 1.

On the other hand, the Italian League, whose team is absent from the World Cup for the second time in a row, will not return until January 4, while the German League has retained its tradition of stopping for a long period during the winter season, between November 13 and January 20, i.e. more than two months.

comprehensive effect

"A pause in the middle of the season to stage the World Cup will affect all teams in every league around the world," said former German soccer star Jürgen Klissenmann, who coached the national teams of his country and the United States at the World Cup.

"It (the World Cup) will have an impact on the performance of players and teams. The season may be dramatic for everyone. This has not happened before, and everyone will feel its concussions."

The compressed program means that the national teams will have one window to play their test matches in late September.

The lack of time forced the European Union to hold the six rounds of the Champions League at the beginning of November, after the sixth round in particular was held in the first ten days of December.

"We definitely have to give the players some rest, adapting to playing fewer minutes in order to avoid their injuries as much as possible," said new Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier.

The World Cup is usually held in June and July every four years, but the very hot weather in Qatar forced the International Football Association (FIFA) to hold it at the end of the autumn season.

Usually, when the World Cup was held in the summer, players whose teams did not qualify for the finals used to spend holidays, but the matter is currently different. For example, the Egyptian Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will go to Dubai for a training camp alongside his Scottish colleague Andy Robertson.

"(Dubai) is close to Qatar and the players can return quickly and therefore prepare quickly with the team and this gives us real time to prepare for the second part of the season," said Liverpool assistant coach Pep Leenders.

He added, "Last season was like a marathon with 63 matches. The current season is like sprints (Sprint), stop and run fast again. Therefore, it is very important to make a quick start and this is what the Dubai camp will achieve. We will start quickly after the World Cup."

In this regard, the English Premier League's decision to allow five substitutions per match, as do its counterparts in various European countries, was a catalyst.

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