FIFA confirms dates for 2022 World Cup

FIFA did get one bit of business done Friday before Swiss authorities opened criminal proceedings against its president, Sepp Blatter: The world soccer organization confirmed that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will start on Nov. 21, kicking off a 28-day tournament that will finish on Dec. 18.

The timing of the announcement is ironic because it was the controversial decision to award the tournament to Qatar -- a tiny, blast-furnace-hot Arab nation with little soccer tradition -- that is part of the criminal investigations against FIFA in the U.S. and Switzerland.

FIFA’s executive committee confirmed the 2022 dates six months after picking Sunday, Dec. 18 -- Qatar’s National Day, a holiday marking unification and independence -- for the final.

In March, FIFA decided to switch the 2022 tournament from the traditional June-July period, to avoid Qatar’s summer heat.

A 28-day World Cup is four days fewer than usual and is designed to cause less disruption to clubs and leagues, which will have to shut down for several peak midseason weeks.

FIFA had delayed choosing a kickoff date in Qatar while it held talks on the 2019-2024 schedules of national team fixtures. The international calendar mandates when clubs must release players for national-team duty.