The TV coverage of one of snooker’s biggest tournaments could be affected when the next football World Cup takes place.

Earlier this week it was announced that the next World Cup will be held in Qatar between November and December 2022.

Due to the hot climate in the Middle East country and health fears, it has been decided to move the World Cup to the winter time when temperatures in Qatar will be somewhat cooler.

The 2022 World Cup will kick off on November 21 with the final played on December 18 – just a week before Christmas.

This is usually the time frame within the snooker season when the UK Championship is held.

Unless there is a big change to the world snooker calendar in four years time, it means the next world cup will take place at the same time.

The UK Championship is regarded as the second biggest ranking event of the season behind the World Championship which is traditionally held in April and May.

Should both events fall at the same time, it could affect the BBC’s TV coverage of the snooker competition which is held in York. Qatar is currently two hours ahead of the UK but that could extend to three hours in the winter time meaning clashes in the TV schedule could happen.

We’ll probably know more about this in four years time!