卡塔尔世界杯将在冬季举行

FIFA has confirmed the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar will take place on Sunday, December 18.
国际足联已经确认，2022年卡塔尔世界杯的总决赛将在12月18号举行，这一天是星期天。

It comes after a FIFA taskforce recommended last month the tournament should be switched from summer to winter to avoid the searing heat of the Gulf in June and July, where temperatures can exceed 40C.
上个月，国际足联特别工作组建议将比赛日期从夏季改为冬季。这样做能够避开海湾地区六七月份的高温天气，这个时间段的气温能超过40摄氏度。

The decision to hold the first ever winter World Cup was taken more than four years after the most controversial award of a sporting event in history.
继史上最具争议的卡塔尔获得主办权后，关于是否举办冬季世界杯的争论已经超过了四年。

Confirming the date for the 2022 World Cup final, Walter De Gregorio, FIFA's director of communications, said: 'This is for us an important step.
国际足联通讯主管沃尔特•德•格雷格里奥表示，“对于我们而言，这是非常重要的一步。”

'Finally we know the end of the tournament. It's a Sunday and, by the way, it's the national day inQatar, so it fits perfectly.'
“我们终于知道比赛何时结束了，那天是星期天，恰好是卡塔尔的国庆日，相得益彰。”

He added: 'You have enough time to do your Christmas shopping.'
他补充说，“而且你还有充分的时间进行圣诞节采购。”

FIFA has indicated the 2022 tournament will also be shortened to 28 days, instead of the usual 32. The competition is likely to begin (featuring the hosts'Qatar) on November 21.
FIFA同时指出，2022年世界杯赛程将从32天缩短至28天，比赛可能在11月21日开幕。

The decision means the traditional and popular Boxing Day club matches will take place as usual – which will come as some comfort to the Premier League who have strongly opposed the switch.
该决定意味着传统及受欢迎的节礼日比赛将照常举行，此举对于强烈反对日期改变的英超联赛来说是种安慰。

UEFA - the body that governs European football - had pushed for the final to be as late as December 23.
欧洲足球的管理者欧足联已经奋力争取将决赛最晚推至12月23日。

The Qatar World Cup has been mired in controversy ever since the shock decision to stage the tournament in the desert kingdom which has no footballing history and a questionable human rights record.
卡塔尔是一个沙漠国家，且该国没有足球历史，人权问题令人生疑，世界杯却在这里举行，因而卡塔尔世界杯自宣布之日起便饱受争议。

Sepp Blatter, FIFA's long-standing president, even admitted last year that staging the tournament in Qatar was a 'mistake' – justifying it by saying 'but one makes lots of mistakes in life'.
国际足联主席赛普•布拉特曾在去年承认过在卡塔尔举办世界杯就是个“错误”，但他辩解道“人一生中会犯很多错误。”

Allegations of widespread corruption and collusion dogged the process from the outset.
有一种说法是从一开始这个事件就有腐败和阴谋的的影子。

A report by investigator Michael Garcia into allegations of corruption remains secret, unpublished and subject to dispute between its author and FIFA.
一份调查员迈克尔•加西亚对腐败指控的报告仍然处于保密、未公开的状态，引发了作者和国际足联之间的纷争。

Vocabulary

mire：使陷入困境

outset：开始

collusion：勾结，共谋