Shay Given: 2022 World Cup timing bodes well for 'good football'

When Shay Given began the trek towards the last World Cup that took place in Asia, he had a sizeable chunk of time to avail of a mental break.

On 11 May 2002 he started for Newcastle in a 3-1 defeat against Southampton. Then the former Ireland goalkeeper had three weeks to switch focus from the end of the club season to prepare for the Boys in Green's World Cup opener against Cameroon on 1 June.

Much happened in that span of time of course, including a certain turn of events on an island in the Pacific which ended Roy Keane's involvement before it had even started.

But needless to say 20 years on, the upcoming World Cup in Qatar - the first to take place in the Northern Hemisphere winter - gives players little time between the pause in the club season and the start of the tournament.

For example, in the Premier League, the final round of fixtures before the tournament is on the weekend of 12-13 November. Seven days after that latter date, hosts Qatar and Ecuador will kick off the opening game.

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One consequence of the lack of lead-in time has been less time for aspiring players to recover from injury and consequently a growing list of big names will be unable to feature. But how will the potential lack of cohesion affect the participating nations, especially the major contenders?

It's a point Given considered as RTÉ Sport launched coverage details for the 2022 FIFA World Cup across television, radio and online, with 64 live games across RTÉ2, RTÉ Player and RTÉ News Channel.

"Naturally with