10 Interesting Facts About The 2022 World Cup Qatar

Illustration of the World Cup (Photo: fifa.com)

JAKARTA - The most prestigious football competition in the world, the FIFA World Cup, will be held in the Middle East for the first time in history and Qatar is the host country of the competition. The Middle East's most iconic nation will host a month-long carnival with the tournament starting in the winter of 2022.

But, you know, there are many things that make the 2022 World Cup one of the most unique world cups in the history of football. Let's take a closer look at some of the most interesting facts about the 2022 World Cup that make it unique in every way. VOI tries to summarize it from various sources.

1. The first winter World Cup in the Northern Hemisphere

Well, here are interesting facts about the World Cup in Qatar. This 2022 edition of the competition will be the first winter world cup in the Northern Hemisphere. Initially, the world cup usually took place in the summer in the southern hemisphere as this is the time in which the region experiences winter conditions.

However, things get tough when it comes to Qatar. Located in the Middle East, Qatar experiences extremely high temperatures that can reach up to 50 degrees celsius. Under such conditions, hosting any kind of world cup is almost impossible.

Therefore, to overcome the challenges posed by the weather in Qatar, the FIFA World Cup was moved from its usual summer slot to winter. This move, then, made it the first winter world cup in the Northern Hemisphere.

Interestingly, the 2022 World Cup will start on November 21, 2021 and end with the final scheduled for December 18, 2021.

2. The most expensive World Cup

Another interesting fact about the upcoming 2022 world cup in Qatar is the amount the host country is spending in preparation for this event. As per estimates, Qatar spent 200 billion US dollars on infrastructure projects which include the construction of stadiums, roads, hotels and so on. This will make the Qatar World Cup one of the most expensive world cups in history.

3. Least number of stadiums to host the World Cup

Another unique fact about the upcoming world cup in Qatar is the number of stadiums. Only eight stadiums are prepared by Qatar to host FIFA 2022 which is the lowest number of venues for a world cup in recent years.

In fact, of the eight venues selected to host the tournament, only one was completely renovated while the other seven were built from scratch.

Al Janoub Stadium (Photo: qatar2022.qa)

Earlier in 1978, Argentina was the first country to host a FIFA World Cup with just six stadiums. Two stadiums less than Qatar.

4. Record number of visitors

One of the most interesting facts about FIFA 2022 in Qatar is the number of visitors expected to arrive in the country during the event. As expected, the 2022 World Cup Qatar will probably receive a record number of visitors by the time the tournament ends.

The reason behind this is simple to understand. Being one of the best countries in the Middle East, Qatar is also located right in the center of the world and close to most of the countries in the world. Therefore, a record number of visitors is expected to come from all over the world when the 2022 World Cup kicks off.

It is interesting to note, Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport will join hands to bring a record number of visitors to the country. It is estimated that there will be 1300 flights coming to Qatar every day for the whole month.

5. Easiest to move cities

Another interesting fact about the Qatar World Cup is its commutability. As already discussed, the FIFA World Cup will attract a record number of visitors to Qatar. But what about moving within the country? Well, here's one thing. Qatar is a small country. In fact, it is much smaller than the host of the 2018 world cup, Russia.

Since the size of this country is very small, traveling from one place to another here is not a big problem. Host cities such as Doha, Lusail, Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan are located close to each other. Therefore, moving from one place to another will not be a big problem for travelers.

In fact, while local taxis like Karwa will help fans travel to different places, the Doha Metro will play a big role once the World Cup kicks off in the country. It is estimated that the metro line will carry around one million people during the Qatar World Cup.

As experts believed, the number might even be higher than before and would set a new record. Interestingly, the Doha Metro line connects all venues for the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Qatar's two most remote stadiums, Al Bayt and Al Wakrah are only 90 miles away.

Transportation facilities in Qatar (Photo: qatar2022.qa)

6. Fan zone provides cheap alcohol

Qatar has left no stone unturned in making the upcoming FIFA 2022 a huge success, and fan zones will be a big part of that. To date, there has been a lot of talk about the availability of alcohol in Qatar during the World Cup. However, while the stadium does not serve alcohol to fans, Qatar has certainly found a solution that might work.

There will be fan zones set up across the country that will serve alcohol at lower prices. This will be the overall concept in terms of the Qatar World Cup and fans will be able to enjoy live action right from the fan zone while getting cheap alcohol.

7. Stadium is equipped with Centralized Air Conditioning

One of the most important things to note about the 2022 World Cup host nation is the fact that the temperature in Qatar during the day is very high.

While the World Cup is nearly impossible to hold during the summer given the fact that temperatures can touch 50 degrees celsius, switching to the winter slot has brought some peace. However, is the problem solved?

Well, as far as winter is concerned, even daytime temperatures during winter can be quite high. Therefore, Qatar has found a solution for this. For the first time, the country will host the World Cup in an air-conditioned stadium. All eight stadiums will be fully air-conditioned, providing fans with a comfortable viewing experience.

8. Bridging the cultural gap between Europe and the Middle East

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will help bridge the cultural gap between Europe and the Middle East. This will be an opportunity to bring the two worlds together and help people have fun together.

In fact, Qatar put a tremendous effort into this and the results will be interesting to see after the World Cup takes place.

9. Second World Cup to be held in Asia

Not only will Qatar be the first Middle Eastern country to host the 2022 World Cup, but it will also be the second time when the prestigious competition takes place in Asia. The first occurred in 2002 when Japan and South Korea co-hosted a FIFA event for the first time in Asia.

Therefore, FIFA 2022 will be a special event for Qatar as it will be the first Middle Eastern country to host the event.

10. Hospitality awaits fans

Ever heard of Qatari Arab hospitality? Well, here's the thing, this country is very well known for its generous Arab hospitality and continues to impress travelers. Every hotel, public park or even a shopping mall in Qatar has been designed with comfort and convenience in mind.

As far as the 2022 World Cup is concerned, fans will receive generous hospitality once the tournament kicks off. How, interested in watching live in Qatar?