The astonishment of football fans was great when World Football Association FIFA awarded the organization of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar on December 2, 2010. Finally, the oil state in the Middle East, with less than 1.4 million inhabitants, is organizing a World Cup football.
The exact reason for Qatar’s choice over favorite countries such as Australia, Japan, and the United States, which were also in the race, has never been disclosed. However, it has now been proven that a number of FIFA bosses would have received the money in exchange for their votes. They have also been convicted of this.
This, plus the astronomical budget of more than 150 billion euros, that the government of Qatar was willing to invest in stadiums and the improvement of airports, roads, accommodations, and a new metro line. We can therefore say that the tournament has been bought.
When is the Football World Cup?
When the 2022 FIFA World Cup starts is a frequently asked question. This is because, for the first time in history, the World Cup will not be played during June and July but in November and December. The 2022 World Cup started on November 20, 2022, at 5 p.m. Dutch time and will last until December 18, 2022.
FIFA World Cup 2022 schedule
The 2022 World Cup schedule with the 32 participating countries is easy to view online. All qualifying matches have been played, and the 32 participants have been announced. This means that all dates and the schedule of the World Cup are also known:
The 2022 World Cup is the shortest World Cup since the ’78 World Cup and will run from November 20, 2022, to December 18, 2022.
- Opening match World Cup 2022: November 20, 2022
- Group Stage: November 20 to December 2, 2022
- Round of 16: December 3, 4, 5, and 6, 2022
- Quarterfinals: December 9 and 10, 2022
- Semifinals: Tuesday 13, and Wednesday, December 14, 2022
- Consolation final: Saturday, December 17, 2022
- 2022 World Cup Final: December 18, 2022
Time difference with Qatar
For example, football fans who remember the World Cup tournaments in Brazil and South Korea/Japan know that all those exciting matches in a faraway country can sometimes lead to sleepless nights for TV viewers because of the time difference.
Stadiums and host cities of the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Due to the heat in Qatar, everything is being done to make the stay during the World Cup as pleasant as possible. For example, most stadiums of the 2022 World Cup are equipped with technologically advanced air conditioning systems and cooling installations.
It is a compact World Cup football, with all World Cup 2022 host cities and facilities within a radius of 60 kilometers. Doha is the central city with no fewer than four stadiums. The new stadiums are built in such a way that they can easily be reduced in size after the tournament for use by local clubs. In addition, the football stadiums that will be dismantled after the World Cup will be taken to developing countries and reused there.
These are all World Cup host cities
- Doha (home to Stadium 974, Khalifa International Stadium, Education City Stadium, and Al Thumama Stadium)
- Lusail (Lusail Iconic Stadium)
- Al-Khor (Al Bayt Stadium)
- Al-Rayyan (Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium)
- Al-Wakrah (Al Janoub Stadium)
Traveling to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar
Qatar is quite easy to travel to by plane. It is about a six-hour flight, and several airlines fly from Schiphol to the capital Doha. There will also be travel organizations that offer complete packages. This includes the flight, hotel, and tickets.
To offer all fans a place to sleep, Qatar has built several floating hotels in the sea off the coast of Doha. There are also luxurious Bedouin encampments in the desert. These consist of tents with air conditioning, which are fully equipped.
Fan zones
Every World Cup naturally includes a fan zone for the fans. In addition, all host cities will have large party tents with air conditioning and facilities that should make the visitors feel comfortable.
Alcohol and Qatar’s policy during the World Cup
As a rule, the consumption of alcohol in public is not allowed in fairly strictly Islamic Qatar. However, the Minister of Sports Al-Ali has already indicated in a press statement that in the field of hospitality in 2022, “a new, unprecedented high standard of excellence” will be in force in the country.
This means that beer and other alcoholic beverages will be available in the hotels and party tents for foreign guests. However, outside of that, so also in the stadiums, this will not be the case.
Prices for alcoholic beverages have risen enormously since 2019 due to introduce a new tax measure. You now pay around 100 US dollars for a tray with 24 cans of Heineken. Whether this measure will hold up during the 2022 World Cup remains to be seen. FIFA and some of FIFA’s sponsors will not be happy about this. More information about this can be found at https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/qatar-impose-100-percent-tax-alcohol.
The controversial construction of the stadiums
The construction of the stadiums and the various facilities required for the World Cup have now been completed. All stadiums have been completed. But the conditions and the poor working conditions of the construction workers are not undisputed.
Organizations, trade unions, and Amnesty International have been very concerned about the many accidents and deaths during construction work in recent years. In addition, the working conditions for the hired foreign workers are often poor. After FIFA also openly expressed concern, the Qatari government promised improvement. But not much seems to have come of this as reports of poor working conditions continued to emerge in April 2022.
Official FIFA World Cup song
The official World Cup song is called Hayya Hayya (Better Together). Trinidad Cardona, Davido, and AISHA created and performed this song. Watch and listen to the video via this link to the Youtube video.
The official mascot of the World Cup football
The official mascot of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is named La’eeb. The name is an Arabic word roughly translated as’ super-skilled player.’ The name contains an apostrophe, common when translating values from Arabic to the Roman alphabet. The apostrophe indicates that a glottal stop is used, which is common in Arabic. A glottal stop is the short-term interruption of the sound of the voice or its activation by briefly closing the glottal slit and thereby interrupting the vibration of the vocal cords (source Wikipedia).
A special tournament
It will be a unique tournament in every way: for the first time in autumn/winter, for the first time in the Middle East, and in a desert climate. This website will keep you informed about the 2022 World Cup news.
FAQs about the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
- How many countries are participating in the World Cup in Qatar?
Thirty-two countries are participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. All countries had to qualify through preliminary rounds, except the host country Qatar, which automatically qualified for the final round of the World Cup in their own country.
- Which countries will participate in the 2022 World Cup?
All participants for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have now been announced. View the list of all World Cup participants here.
- When is the 2022 World Cup in Qatar?
The World Cup in Qatar starts on Sunday, November 20, 2022, at 5 p.m. Dutch time. The World Cup final match will be played on Sunday, December 18, 2022, at 4 p.m. So, the 2022 World Cup will last from November 20 to December 18, 2022, the shortest Football World Cup since ’78.
- How many people died during the construction work of the World Cup stadiums in Qatar?
According to the latest reports (source: The Guardian), more than 6,500 workers have died while working for the World Cup in Qatar. These are (almost) all migrant workers who work on stadiums, roads, or airports that have to be built for the World Cup. The number will probably be even higher than 6500, as not all figures are known. Most of the deaths are from India (2711), Nepal (1641), Bangladesh (1018), and Pakistan (824).
- Why will the 2022 World Cup be held in winter/autumn?
It is the first time a World Cup football is held in the winter. Initially, the World Cup was planned for the summer. Still, since summer temperatures in Qatar sometimes exceed 40 degrees Celsius, FIFA decided in December 2015 to hold the World Cup in the winter. Because the World Cup is held in the winter, most football competitions have to be interrupted in between.
- How many substitutions can a team make during World Cup matches?
Each team may substitute a maximum of 5 players during the 2022 World Cup match. However, this must be done in a maximum of three moments. A sixth and fourth substitution is allowed if the game goes into extra time.
- When will yellow and red cards be canceled during the tournament?
The yellow cards players received during the tournament will be cancelled after the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup. However, red cards are not waived. If a player receives a red card after his second yellow card in a match, he is suspended for the next match. A direct red card is always followed by a suspension of at least one game.
- How many rest days does the World Cup in Qatar have?
Six rest days have been built into the World Cup schedule during this edition of the Football World Cup. Because this tournament is played in the winter, it is a relatively short tournament. After the round of 16, there are two rest days (December 7 and 8, 2022); after the quarter-finals, there are two rest days (December 11 and 12); and after the semi-finals, there are two rest days (December 15 and 16).
- Will there be a VAR at the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
The VAR (video assistant referee) will be present during Qatar’s 2022 football World Cup. This was also the case during the previous World Cup football, and the organization liked this at the time, so the VAR system was also used during the World Cup football in Qatar.