With 2021 finally coming to an end, many football fans are already looking forward to the new year.
The year 2021 has been phenomenal in football. The postponed European and Copa America tournaments were played in 2021, and the postponed Olympics men's football tournament was also held in 2021. The year served us a great deal of football and extraordinary moments. Nevertheless, 2022 is fast approaching and promises to be even better.
Here are five footballing competitions that football fans can look forward to in 2022.
1. 2022 FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious football competition in the world, and it is coming up in 2022. In 2022, the FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar. It will be the first-ever World Cup hosted by an Arab country and the second in the entire Asian continent since the 2002 World Cup jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan. The 22nd edition of the tournament promises to be exciting and memorable.
The World Cup is often held in the summer but was changed due to the severe summer heat in Qatar. Hence, it will be played between the 21st of November to the 18th of December 2022.
2. African Cup of Nations
The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is the biggest football tournament on the African continent.
The 33rd edition of the AFCON was supposed to take place in 2021 but was postponed to 2022 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Algeria are the defending champions after they won the competition in 2019.
This time, the AFCON will be held in Cameroon from the 9th of January to the 6th of February 2022 and will be contested by 24 teams.
3. 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
The European youth tournament is definitely one to watch, as it will feature many talented European youngsters. The 19th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship will be held in Slovakia from the 20th of July to the 2nd of August 2022.
4. FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup
Like many football tournaments in 2020, the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was postponed from 2020 to 2022 due to the pandemic. In 2018, Japan won the tournament after defeating Spain in the final. The youth competition has now been scheduled to be played between the 10th to the 28th of August 2022 in Costa Rica.
5. FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup
The 7th edition of the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup will occur after the Under-20 tournament. The competition was supposed to kick off in 2020 but was postponed. Next year, it will take place between the 11th to the 30th of October 2022. India will host the women's youth tournament in 2022.