Will Southgate’s Three Lions go one step beyond in 2022?
NEW territories will do battle with continued unprecedented scenarios when the major sporting events of 2022 inevitably wrestle with Covid-19.
The football World Cup will break new ground in Qatar in November and December but predictions on safety measures remain ultimately redundant.
Human rights issues will certainly come to the fore in the sporting world, however, both in Qatar and when China hosts the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Diplomatic boycotts for February’s Olympics and March’s Para games in Beijing could become increasingly widespread.
At the last count, Britain had joined the USA, Australia and New Zealand in refusing to send any dignitaries.
The same will certainly not be said for football’s global gathering from a British perspective and it remains to be seen how the rest of the world will approach the tournament.
Once the focus finally shifts to the pitch, modern greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could find themselves in the last-chance saloon for global glory.
And Gareth Southgate’s England will be desperate to take that elusive last step to greatness.
After the World Cup semifinals in 2018 came the European Championship final in the 2020 tournament delayed to 2021.
Continue that progressive trend and Southgate, his coaches and players will achieve British sporting immortality if they can rule the world in 2022.
Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games in July and August will seek to offer a vibrant showpiece for athletics, in one of the UK’S most multicultural and progressive cities.
Postponements from 2021 will also be the order of the annum, with the Rugby League World Cup to be staged in the
UK in October and November.
The women’s Rugby World Cup will take place in New Zealand in October and November too, also a year on from original scheduling.
Cricket will see the women’s ODI World Cup in March and April in New Zealand, in another contest that will have authorities fretting over the Covid backdrop.