One advantage which sport has always had over other forms of event sponsorship and promotion is its consistency in the calendar.
We know from year to year where the high points fall and can both plan and promote accordingly.
Sundays in September, the Six Nations in the Spring and Cheltenham in March are staples in the mind of fans and brands. Changes need to be planned well in advance and will still meet resistance before eventual acceptance.
Fifa have taken forward planning to an extreme by announcing the date of the 2022 World Cup Final as being Sunday December 18th. It is an inevitable consequence of bringing the tournament to Qatar where it would, for now, be physically dangerous to play at the height of summer.
The change will mean immense disruption to the Barclays Premier League, the UEFA Champions’ League and a variety of other sports who will need to plan for a major competitor in a time frame that was previously free of such a gigantic rival.
From today there are 2,831 days to get those plans in place. Who knows whether Ireland will be involved but we will be on a high having hosted part of the Euro 2020 Tournament in Dublin, and we may be in the throes of preparation to host our very own Rugby World Cup less than 12 months later.
Time passes quickly. Better mark the date in your diary now…
