Controversial World Cup 2022 in Qatar – now with revolutionary rule changes?

Created: 04/06/2022Updated: 04/06/2022 8:25 p.m

By: Sandra Kathe

FIFA is considering extending the playing time at the World Cup in Qatar from 90 to 100 minutes.

A decision is pending.

Doha/Zurich – A host country without a significant football tradition, adverse climate conditions, criticism of human and labor rights violations, non-transparent internal association voting practices: there are numerous reasons for criticism* of the 2022 World Cup* taking place this winter.

Now a Fifa push to the rules is causing additional excitement.

According to Italian media reports, the international football association plans to check for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar * whether the games can be extended to 100 minutes instead of the usual 90 minutes.

However, the international football body IFAB (International Football Association Board) has to make the decision about this significant intervention in the applicable football regulations.

World Cup 2022 in Qatar: games for 100 instead of 90 minutes?

According to media reports, the proposal is said to have been brought personally to the tableau by Fifa President Gianni Infantino*.

The background is a long-standing discussion about the actual playing time in football games.

As data from the CIES Football Observatory is supposed to show, it is getting shorter and shorter.

Fifa President Gianni Infantino has proposed a significant rule change ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, causing some irritation.

(Archive photo) © Christian Charisius/dpa

In comparison to lengthy game interruptions, such as throw-ins, game interruptions or set pieces, the ball is on the field for just 64.7 percent of the time in Champions League games.

In the English Premier League, only 62 percent of the 90 minutes of active playing time was measured.

World Cup 2022 in Qatar: Revolutionary rule change should extend the playing time

The extension of the usual playing time should counteract this tendency, it is said to justify the initiative.

Similar measures had already been proposed several times in the recent past.

Many pundits favor a rule change that stops the clock when play is paused, as is done in rugby or American football.

(ska)