Finally, FIFA World Cup 2022 is set to officially kick off on November 21. The entire football world is now into the final stretch as Qatar is all geared up to host the most prestigious sports tournament on Earth.
Like every other edition, all the football fans have lots of speculations about the 22nd edition of the World Cup since the first time Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup. Qatar is the first Middle East country and the second Asian team to host the World Cup after Japan & Korea who were the co-hosts of the 2002 Football World Cup edition.
Football fans all around the world have their never-ending curiosity about the upcoming World Cup, and rightly they should have. We are here to present a complete overview of all the possible queries that fans might need to know before watching the FIFA World Cup Qatar. So, let’s roll!
How was Qatar selected as the World Cup 2022 hosts?
The final bidding for the FIFA 2022 World Cup took place in 2010. Qatar was chosen over the other rivals Australia, the USA, Japan, and South Korea to be nominated officially as the host country of the tournament. It happened as part of FIFA’s pledge to stage one single international tournament in the Gulf region by 2030. Hence, Qatar got the opportunity of hosting this mega event.
When will Qatar 2022 World Cup kickoff?
As we already mentioned earlier, the 2022 World Cup will start on 21st November and continue till 18 December of this year. For the first time in soccer history, the World Cup will be played in the Northern hemisphere’s winter season. In total, 64 matches will be played throughout the tournament. Qatar has already announced the closing day of the cup as their National Holiday.
Why will Qatar 2022 be a winter event?
Usually, in every edition, the World Cup is scheduled to host in the summer season. But, we’re about to witness an exception this time with Qatar 2022. The main reason behind this is the scorching summer heat in Qatar. To protect the players, staff, officials, and fans from the blistering hot weather, FIFA decided to shit the 2022 World Soccer Cup to the winter.
How does the winter temperature vary from the summer in Qatar?
The summer temperature from May to June in Qatar varies between 95-113°F (35-45°C) which lowers in the winter between the range of 63-77°F (17-25°C).
What is the Qatar 2022 Cup schedule?
The Qatar 2022 group stage will begin on the opening day 21 November and end on December 2. The knockout stage, starting with the last 16 will be played from 3rd to 6thinstants. On the 9th and 10, the Quarterfinals will take place, whereas the Semi-Finals will be staged on the 13th and 14th. The world will see the final of the tournament on the 18th of December.
How does the Qatar World Cup 2022 work?
Qatar 2022 will follow the same format just like the past few tournaments. There will be 8 groups. Qatar was placed as A1, while the top FIFA ranked 7 teams were given spots as the first entrants in 7 other groups.
Same continent nations apart from Europe are kept apart. In the case of Europe, they contain the maximum number of countries participating in the tournament, and at most 2 European teams are placed in the same group. Unlike the other times, FIFA gives priority to the Worldwide audience’s convenience to enjoy the cup rather than how the teams are drawn out.
How does Qatar 2022 become the most expensive event?
Qatar is a small, yet rich country. But it has no long soccer history, and thus lacked football infrastructure even after being proclaimed as the next host. There’re always doubts clouding over the future of successful WC possibilities.
Qatar worked relentlessly to make it happen and reportedly spend more than 200 billion USD on the footballing infrastructure. Though the tournament will take place during winter, there’ll be high temperatures throughout the competition. Considering this, Qatar manages to arrange central Air conditioning in all the stadiums, which eventually results in being the event the most expensive of all.
Where is Qatar located?
Qatar is a Gulf region country, located in Western Asia to be more specific. It is a very small country of just 11581 square km with a minor 2.8 million population. The capital of the nation is Doha and Arabic is the native language. English is also widely used by the majority of people.
What is the time of the Qatar 2022 matches to take place?
FIFA has set different kickoff times considering the convenience of worldwide football fans. In the group stage the matches will take place on local 1, 4, 7, and 10 pm (10:00, 13:00, 16:00, and 19:00 GMT respectively). The round of 16 and Quarterfinals will start from 15:00 and 19:00 GMT, whereas both the Semi-Finals at 19:00 GMT. The final and third-place match will kick off at 15:00 GMT.
Which venues will host the World Cup 2022?
All the World Cup matches will take place in 6 cities: Al Khor, Al Wakrah, Al Rayyan, Ras Abu Aboud, Lusail, and the Capital Doha. 8 stadiums are going to host the matches, which is the fewest since 1978 World Cup where Argentina arranged 6 stadiums for the tournament. At least, 10 to 12 stadiums were used since then to host the World Cup matches since then. Despite the lower number of venues, all the stadiums locate at most 75 kilometers traveling distance from each other. They are going to take less than an hour for the visitors, which will make Qatar 2022 the most accessible World Cup in history.
The stadiums are Al Bayt Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Rayyan Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Education City Stadium, and Lusail Stadium. A maximum of 8 matches will participate in the Al Bayt and Lusail Stadium. The opening match will be played in Al Bayt, whereas the Lusail Stadium will host the Final.
Which countries are going to the 2022 World Cup?
The 32 countries have been decided for the FIFA World Cup Qatar. Qatar got an automatic entry, while the others earned the chance after winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 playoffs.
Germany was the first nation that secure the World Cup spot, whereas Denmark became the second. The Current Champions, France also qualified successfully. Other European countries: France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, and the Netherlands followed them, whereas Portugal and Poland joined them after being European Playoff Winner teams.
Brazil was the first Latin team to qualify, followed by Argentina, Ecuador, and Uruguay from South America. Iran was the first to guarantee entry from Asia and was later joined by South Korea, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.
From Africa, 5 African national teams: Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, and Cameroon are taking place in the FIFA world cup 2022 schedule, while Canada, the USA, and Mexico are going to participate from North and Central America. However, 3 Playoff Qualifier winner teams are yet to be decided.
Why don’t we know all FIFA 2022 World Cup teams?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, two Intercontinental Playoff matches have shifted to June where Costa Rica will take on New Zealand to find out the Concacaf-OFC Playoff Winner, and Peru will face the winner of the UAE vs Australia match-winner to decide the AFC-CONMEBOL Playoff Winner.
The UEFA play-off has been delayed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It will also take place in June. Wales’s World Cup fate depends on the match as the side will face the winner between Scotland and Ukraine.
How is World Cup 2022 group stage draw?
32 teams, divided into eight groups of four sides each are going to attend the group stage.
- Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
- Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales
- Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
- Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
- Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
- Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
- Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
- Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Which teams are going to miss the Qatar 2022?
The football World has already seen the 2020 UEFA European Champions Italy’s shocking exit from the play-off after being defeated by a minor force, North Macedonia. We’ll also miss seeing two of the current best goal machines, Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland play, as both Norway and Egypt failed to qualify.
Some other notable teams that didn’t pass the playoff qualifiers are Algeria, Colombia, Nigeria, Morocco, Chile, and Ivory Coast.
Russia, the host nation of the previous World Cup edition is also going to miss out as they are expelled from the play-offs after they invade Ukraine.
How many fans are going to attend Qatar?
It’s predicted that Qatar 2022 World Cup will have a record volume of attendees. Hamad International Airport will receive more than 1300 flights daily during the 28-day long event.
How to get the tickets for the Qatar World Cup?
No doubt, fans all over the world are keeping a close eye on the sale of World Cup Tickets. FIFA officially launched the ticket application phase on 19 January 2022. Fans can apply for ticket products based on different criteria, and their prices will vary accordingly. There are individual match tickets, Team-specific ticket series, Four-stadium ticket series, and Accessibility tickets.
There are 4 different categories with varied price ranges in individual match tickets. As expected, the Opening and Final Match prices the most. Fans interested to enjoy a certain team’s matches can go for Team-specific ticket series, which can provide 3 categories and an accessibility ticket facility.
The newly offered ticketing product service by FIFA for the FIFA World Cup Qatar is the Four-stadium ticket series that offers fans a unique chance of exploring different stadiums and enjoying different teams’ play. The short traveling distances between the stadiums in Qatar will comfortably make it happen.
How to watch the Qatar 2022 matches?
If you’re in the USA, you can watch Qatar 2022 all games on either Fox Sports or FS1. Telemundo and Universo are the channels to broadcast the tournaments in Spanish on TV. FOX Sports apps will stream the World Cup games in English, whereas Peacock will air the matches mostly in Spanish.
Fans can watch the game online by using other streaming services like YouTube TV, Hulu Live, Fubo, Sling TV, etc. In the UK, the TV Coverage rights are shared between BBC Sport and ITV to televise all the matches between these two broadcasters. SBS will air the matches in Australia.
What is the Official Mascot?
On 1st April 2022 during the group stage draw, the tournament mascot was officially unveiled. The name of the mascot is La’eeb, the meaning of this Arabic word is “super-skilled player”. The official FIFA website describes La’eeb as a youthful spirit who spreads confidence and joy everywhere.
What is the Qatar 2022 Logo?
The official emblem of Qatar was unveiled on 3rd September 2019 in Doha with a synchronized projection onto Qatar’s historic monuments including Katara Cultural Village Amphitheatre, Burj Doha, and one of the UNESCO’S Heritage Sites, Al Zubarah Fort.
The logo projection also took place in 24 other major cities around the world simultaneously with the Qatar program. Some notable cities were London, Mumbai, Paris, Moscow, Seoul, Madrid, Milan, Johannesburg, Mexico City, etc.
How is the World Cup official match ball?
The official match ball of the FIFA World Cup Qatar was revealed on 30th March 2022. The ball’s name is “Al Rihla,” which means “the Journey”.
The design of the ball is inspired by the culture, historical boats, architecture, and Qatar flag. This is the first-ever World Cup match ball which is crafted with inks and water-based glues. The ball will add more pace and can easily adapt to modern faster football. However, it is not the best FIFA World Cup ball ever!
What is the official World Cup theme song?
“Hayya Hayya” (English: Better Together) has been nominated as the official Qatar World Cup soundtrack. The song is performed by Trinidad Cardona, Davido, and Qatari lady singer Aisha.
Why is Qatar 2022 a controversial World Cup?
There are lots of controversies surfing around the Qatar 2022 World Cup since the very beginning, from Qatar’s first official bid to this day. There were allegations now and then regarding the bidding corruption of FIFA officials, especially the media kept football fans suspicious regarding Qatar’s selection process. FIFA officials and the Qatar govt. always denied the allegations though. Qatar also denied numerously the accusations of migrant workers’ exploitation, slavery, and workers’ death.
But both FIFA and Qatar can’t deny the fact that shifting the World Cup to November and December will trouble the Worldwide top-level domestic leagues, especially the European nations. For example, the English Premier League Authority is forced to decide on extending the mid-season break by more than a month. Footballers’ health issues are also in heavy doubt.
Other less important issues like Qatar diplomatic crisis, the Russian invasion, LGBT rights, difficulties regarding alcohol consumption, etc. are on point as well.
Is Qatar a safe country for visitors?
Despite different reports and unnecessary gossiping, Qatar is certainly one of the safest destinations for international visitors. It ranks 20 globally in the safe countries list and successfully hosts more than 90 different major events year-round.
What will be the flight times to Qatar?
As Qatar is located in Western Asia, flights take different hours to reach there. It just takes 1hr 30mins to 2hrs from Kuwait and Muscat but can take 12hrs 30mins or even around 16hrs from New Your or Los Angeles. The flight times to Qatar are respectively 6hrs, 6hrs 30mins, 6hrs 40mins and 6hrs 45mins from Berlin, Paris, Madrid, and London. Latin countries are about 16hrs away from Qatar.
Does Qatar provide any visa-free entry?
Yes, Qatar provides visa-free entry for a total of 80 countries.
Which places are best to stay in Qatar?
Qatar has plenty of options to stay for international visitors including 3 to 5-star hotels, temporary cruise ships, rented residences/flats, or Bedouin-style tents under the open sky.
Can you drink at the 2022 World Cup?
Yes, you can drink. Not every place, as Qatar is a religiously conservative country and also prohibits the consumption of drinks and alcohol along with other activities. But you can drink at hotels, other designated areas, or tourist zones.
Is alcohol expensive in Qatar?
Yes, drinks are expensive in Qatar as they have strict controls over the consumption and sale of alcohol. Due to such regulations, Alcohols cost visitors more bucks than in other parts of the globe. For example, Whisky Chivas (1-liter bottle) costs 113USD, Vodka Sky would cost 44USD.
How much is beer in Qatar?
Tourists can buy beer in Qatar only from licensed establishments like bars, restaurants adjacent to luxury hotels, etc. But beer is also expensive in Qatar. It is going to cost the tourists up to 50 Qatari Rial (13.73USD) to buy a pint of beer.
Is pork allowed in Qatar?
A BIG NO. Qatar is a Muslim country. So, pork or products that contain pork are banned here.
Can you get bacon in Qatar?
As pork is banned in Qatar, so is the bacon.
Who is the all-time top scorer?
German striker, Miroslav Klose participated in 4 World Cups and holds the record of all-time top scorer after beating Ronaldo and Gerd Muller.
Who will host the 2026 World Cup?
The next world cup will take place in 2026, and three North American countries: the USA, Canada, and Mexico, will be the tournament hosts. Qatar 2022 will be the last World Cup edition with the participation of 32 teams. The 2026 World Cup will be the inaugural tournament where 48 countries will participate.
Final Thoughts
Qatar 2022 promises grand excitement & a thrilling experience for global football fans, and no doubt this Mega event will deliver it accordingly. Qatar is all set, and we’re in underway to the biggest show of all time. Fans will enjoy the best of their time while enjoying the Qatar world cup.
Leave a Reply