Interesting Facts About the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
When it comes to football, the FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest events that fans dare not miss. The World Cup only happens every four years because that’s how long qualification tournaments and playoffs take. The next World Cup will kick off from November 21 to December 18, 2022.
This year will be interesting because it is the first-ever World Cup that will be held in the Arab world. It’s then the second World Cup that will be held in the Asian continent. In total, 32 teams are participating, which will be the last because the next World Cup will have 48 teams instead.
November will simply be an exciting time for football fans worldwide. Many will probably fly to Qatar to watch some of the matches live and many will be comfortably streaming the matches live at home while they bet online with 10CRIC.
While waiting for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, here’s everything you need to know about it and some interesting facts too!
About the 2022 FIFA World Cup Host: Qatar
We know that it is the first time that the World Cup will be held in the Middle East and the second time in an Asian country. This is because the 2002 edition of this prestigious football league was hosted in Korea and Japan.
It’s a big deal for the country because they spend around 200 billion USD for infrastructure to host this event. This makes it the most expensive FIFA World Cup event ever. According to reports, $140 billion of this budget is going to help modernize the transport infrastructure in the next five years.
Other investment projects included in this budget are housing, hotels, stadiums, a new port, roads, metro, rail system, malls, and various mixed-asset developments that will accommodate an estimated 400,000 FIFA fans.
Qatar Tourism Authority is also investing $20 billion in tourism infrastructure when tourist arrivals grow at a compound rate of 15.9% annually. This year, it is expected that around 3.7 million will travel to the country including the ones that will watch the FIFA World Cup.
Lusail Real Estate Development Co. also got around 3 billion USD worth of contracts over the last year for infrastructure and the development of roads.
A Deloitte analysis spoke about Qatar’s focus as they host the World Cup this year and said, “Having been selected to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 brought forth the opportunity for Qatar to position itself as a regional sporting hub.
“Qatar National Vision 2013 and programs such as Q2022 are focusing on leaving a legacy for Qatar in terms of football, infrastructure, and economic development.”
The final of this year’s World Cup will take place in a new stadium in Lusail City that has a seating capacity of 86,000. This is located 20 km from downtown Doha and reports suggest that this stadium was likened to Liverpool’s Spion Kop.
In total, there will be eight World Cup venues in Qatar. Three venues have undergone renovations and expansions, while the rest have been built from scratch. Even if the tournament will be held in Winter in Qatar, it is expected that the temperatures will still be high and this is why they also invested in air-conditioning.
Deloitte’s managing director spoke shared his thoughts about all this. Jesdev Saggar said, “With the world focused on Qatar’s every move, the local industry must prepare itself for the plethora of international organizations that are ready to descend on Doha.
“Preparing for the competition is as important to everyone in the built environment, as it will be when the games start.”
Venues
Here are all the Stadiums that will host the matches:
- Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, 60,000 capacity
- Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, 40,000 capacity
- Al Rayyan Stadium in Al Rayyan, 40,000 capacity
- Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, 40,000 capacity
- Ras Abu Aboud Stadium in Ras Abu Aboud, 40,000 capacity
- Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, 40,000 capacity
- Education City Stadium in Doha, 40,000 capacity
- Lusail Stadium in Lusail, 80,000 capacity
It is estimated that the Hamad International Airport in Qatar will receive around 1,300 daily flights during the first 30 days of the tournament.
Qatar’s main religion prohibits the consumption of alcohol, but the organizing committee reached an agreement with the government that the fan fests and the hotels will be considered tourist zones. This means that people in the area can enjoy festivities that include alcohol drinking.
