When will LaLiga and the Premier League stop for the 2022 Qatar World Cup?
All major leagues have been impacted due to the staging of the 2022 Qatar World Cup during the months of November and December.
The current 2022/23 soccer season is unique given that, for the first time in history, the FIFA World Cup will be hosted in November and December and not in the traditional summer months of June and July. Given that the average daytime temperature in Qatar in both June and July exceeds 40C/100F, the prudent decision was taken to move the competition to the more temperate Qatari winter.
The staging of the tournament in the winter months has had a knock on effect with all domestic league having to modify their schedule to cater for the World Cup dates and in Europe, all major top flights will come to a halt as the action in Qatar gets underway.
LaLiga 22/23 season dates
Start/end dates: 12 August (2022) / 4 June (2023)
Stop date for 2022 World Cup: 14 November
Restart date post World Cup: 29 December
The LaLiga season started earlier this year with games commencing over the weekend of 12 August and the campaign in the top flight will wind down on 4 June (2023). Given the dates for the 2022 Qatar World Cup which commences on 20 November, LaLiga will go on hold for a month between November and December when the World Cup is ongoing in Qatar.
Premier League 22/23 dates
Start/end dates: 5 August (2022) / 28 May (2023)
Stop date for 2022 World Cup: 14 November
Restart date post World Cup: 26 December
The current Premier League season started in the first weekend of August with the final set of pre-World Cup fixtures in the Premier League will be staged over the weekend of 12-13 November.
The World Cup gets underway on 20 November with the final match scheduled for 18 December with Premier League action set to resume on 26 December. The final round of matches of the domestic English campaign will be played on 28 May, 2023.