Fifa is weighing up an unprecedented shift of the 2034 World Cup into early 2035 as it wrestles with a crowded global calendar, a clash with Ramadan and extreme summer heat in Saudi Arabia.
The tournament, all but certain to be staged in the kingdom, had been widely expected to follow the Qatar 2022 model and take place in November and December 2034 to avoid the Gulf summer. But that window now overlaps directly with the holy month of Ramadan, creating a fresh dilemma for world football’s governing body.
Ramadan in 2034 is projected to run from 12 November to 12 December – precisely the period initially earmarked for the World Cup.
Ramadan, player fasting and fan experience
British newspaper the Mirror reported on Wednesday that holding football’s largest global event during Ramadan would pose major logistical and cultural challenges.
Millions of supporters are expected to travel to Saudi Arabia, while many players and staff from Muslim-majority nations would be fasting during daylight hours. Working patterns, business hours and daily life also change significantly in the kingdom during the holy month, potentially complicating match scheduling, training regimes, transport and commercial activities.
Organisers would have to decide whether to play more matches late at night, how to handle broadcasting in key international markets, and how to support athletes who are fasting at the peak of an elite competition.
Winter Olympics and summer heat rule out other windows
Starting the World Cup in January 2034 also appears problematic. A tournament running through January and February would collide with the Winter Olympic Games, due to be held in Salt Lake City in the United States.
A summer World Cup is seen as even less feasible. Temperatures in parts of Saudi Arabia typically range between 40C and 45C in July, conditions widely regarded as unsuitable – and potentially unsafe – for high-intensity football, even with late kick-offs and advanced cooling technology.
These constraints have forced Fifa to examine dates outside the sport’s traditional four-year rhythm.
January–February 2035 emerges as ‘most realistic’ option
According to the Mirror, the most viable solution under serious consideration is to move the tournament to January and February 2035.
That window would allow the competition to finish before the Hajj pilgrimage season, expected to begin in mid-February that year, and would avoid overlap with end-of-year holidays around the world. It would also keep the event in the cooler winter months of the Arabian Peninsula.
However, such a move would mean the World Cup breaks its standard four-year cycle for the first time, even if only by a matter of weeks. The shift would echo the postponement of Euro 2020 to 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, when organisers reluctantly accepted a one-year delay to safeguard the tournament.
Expanded 64-team format adds further pressure
The scheduling puzzle is further complicated by Fifa’s continuing drive to expand the World Cup.
The Mirror reported that if Fifa approves a 64-team finals – beyond the already agreed 48-team format – the number of matches and weeks required would grow, making it even harder to find room in an already congested international calendar.
More teams would mean more group games, longer stays for fans and broadcasters, and a greater squeeze on domestic leagues and continental competitions.
Infantino calls for ‘open minds’ over football calendar
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has acknowledged the scale of the challenge, insisting that no final decision has yet been taken on the 2034 World Cup dates.
He said Fifa was still examining “all options” across its competitions and underlined the need for flexibility.
Gianni Infantino said: “We discuss this all the time, and it is not only about one World Cup, but about a global vision for the football calendar.”
He added: “The best month to play football is June, but it is not used much in Europe. Maybe there are ways to improve the match calendar, and we are still discussing all possibilities, and we have to keep our minds open until we come to the right decision.”
Any move into 2035 would require careful negotiation with domestic leagues, clubs and broadcasters, but with religious observance, extreme weather and competing mega-events all in play, Fifa faces one of the most complex scheduling decisions in World Cup history.
