The FIFA World Cup, the most-watched sporting event in the world, features 64 matches between 32 teams over the course of an entire month of nonstop football activity.

There are numerous factors that will make the Qatar 2022 World Cup unique from all others.

Not to mention, it’s the first football competition to truly be international after the pandemic.

The first-ever FIFA Winter World Cup

Traditionally, the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months of June and July are occupied by FIFA World Cup competitions. The organisers of the first World Cup in the Arab world, however, were forced to make accommodations because of the intense summer heat in the area.

While summertime highs hover around 50°C, wintertime lows range from 4 to 29°C, making them much more bearable.

The Most Potential Visitors

Qatar, which is centrally placed between the majority of the major geographic regions and is located on the Arabic Peninsula, is a well-known travel hub. Therefore, it is not surprising that the nation anticipates receiving the highest influx of more than 1 million foreign spectators. Throughout the competition, 1,300 incoming planes are anticipated to touch down in the nation each day.

First-Ever World Cup in the Middle-East

The FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar for the first time in the Middle East and just the second time in Asia overall. The latest new region to host the FIFA World Cup was South Africa (Africa) in 2010.

First-Ever Smallest Host Country

By both population and land area, Qatar is the FIFA World Cup’s smallest host nation. Qatar is smaller than the entirety of New York City, with a total area of approximately 11,571 km2. It only has 2.881 million people. Uruguay, which has a population of about 3.5 million and a geographic area of 176,215 km2, is the next-smallest FIFA World Cup host.

Only 90 miles separate the stadiums in Qatar that are the furthest apart-Al Bayt and Al Wakrah. All of the World Cup stadiums are connected by the Doha Metro line, making it easy to get to any of them.

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No Alcohol in Stadium

When it comes to alcohol, Qatar has been upfront about its stance. Alcohol will not be available in stadiums (except in some corporate entertainment areas).  Qatar has set up alcohol-friendly “fan zones” throughout the country, which are areas where fans can gather and drink without fear of legal repercussions. Alcohol sold in fan zones will also be less expensive than what’s typical for Qatar.

Centrally Air-Conditioned Stadiums 

All of Qatar’s brand-new stadiums will feature central air-conditioning. Each stadium will require about 115 MWh per game for cooling. That translates to roughly 43,560 household air conditioners per stadium or a whole lot of industrial fans!

This is because it gets pretty hot in Qatar, where the tournament will take place. Temperatures can reach 25 degrees Celsius in December, which is still one of the hottest months there.

Eight Stadiums

Qatar’s 2022 World Cup will take place in eight new or renovated stadiums, the smallest number of stadiums that any previous World Cup has ever used. Seven of these were built entirely from scratch, while the only existing stadium was massively renovated.

Here are Eight Stadiums:

• Lusail Stadium – the largest stadium with a capacity of 80,000
• Al Bayt Stadium 
• Al Thumama Stadium
• Al Janoub Stadium
• Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
• Khalifa International Stadium
• Stadium 974
• Education City Stadium

Unprecedented Namaz Break

As Namaz time approached, muezzins across Qatar called Muslim football players, fans and officials to the first Friday prayers, according to Reuters.

At the Ibrahim al-Khalil Mosque in Doha’s West Bay, they all gathered there for the weekly congregational prayer.

Many Muslim fans told that Qatar’s World Cup has accommodated them like never before. There are praying rooms in the stadium, a free-alcohol stadium, there are halal food outlets and no beer-swilling fans to deal with in the stands.

How Qatar Became the Host of the Fifa World Cup 2022?

In the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup, Qatar defeated bids from the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia. It faced several obstacles as FIFA raised concerns in its technical reports. Those included a lack of existing infrastructure and Qatar’s intense heat in the summer when World Cup tournaments are traditionally held. Despite these concerns, Qatar secured 14 votes to the USA’s eight in the final round of balloting to win hosting rights for 2022.

Qatar, which has never previously appeared at a World Cup tournament, lost the opening game of its first appearance with a 2-0 defeat against Ecuador on Sunday. The country’s World Cup debut has stirred controversy within the footballing community and beyond.

Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup in December 2010. Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter welcomed the prospect of football’s showpiece event going to “new lands.”

Also Read: Qatar Dismisses Europe’s Remarks as ‘Racist’

Qatar has invested billions in its football infrastructure in preparation for the 2022 tournament. But questions about just how Qatar won the right to stage the World Cup continue. As recently as March 2020, officials from the United States Department of Justice alleged that bribes were accepted by top officials as part of the voting process to elect Russia and Qatar as the tournament host for the 2018 and 2022 events – claims Russian officials denied and Qatari officials called “false” in a statement.

Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, said that Qatar has made a “great evolution” in its labour reforms and that the International Labor Organization has been working with Qatar to ensure that workers are paid a fair wage. Meanwhile, the LGBTQ community has also been advocating for better treatment from Qatar in the years leading up to the World Cup.

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