The Qatar World Cup, a quadrennial international men’s football championship played between the senior national teams of FIFA member countries, is set to take place for the 22nd time in 2022.
Qatar will host it from November 20 through December 18, 2022.
After the event in South Korea and Japan in 2002, this will be the second World Cup wholly held in Asia and the first World Cup ever to be contested in the Arab world.
Additionally, the tournament will include 32 teams for the final time; the tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada in 2026 will have 48 teams instead.
This World Cup will be the first to not be hosted in May, June, or July and to take place in the northern autumn; it will be played in a shorter timeframe of roughly 29 days due to the extreme summer heat in Qatar. The tournament will take place from late-November to mid-December.
At Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, the opening game of the tournament will be played between Qatar and Ecuador.
The final is scheduled for December 18, 2022, which also happens to be Qatar National Day. France is the current World Cup champion.
Concerns over the legitimacy of Qatar hosting the World Cup in 2022 were first raised in May 2011 following allegations of corruption involving high FIFA executives.
Regarding the process by which Qatar was selected to host the event, allegations of corruption have been made.
Qatar was exonerated of all violations following an internal FIFA inquiry and report, however head investigator Michael J. Garcia later claimed that the document had “many materially incomplete and erroneous assertions.”
Swiss federal prosecutors launched an investigation into bribery and money-laundering in connection with the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids on May 27, 2015.
Sepp Blatter, the former president of FIFA, said on August 6 that Qatar had engaged in “black ops,” implying that the bid committee had cheated to secure the hosting rights.
The treatment of foreign workers engaged in World Cup preparation has also drawn harsh criticism for Qatar.
Amnesty International has cited “forced labor” and subpar working conditions, and numerous migrant workers have claimed they had to pay significant “recruitment fees” in order to find employment.
Qatar World Cup Stadiums
The Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Stadium 974 and Al Thumama Stadium in Doha are the venues chosen to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
Doha, the capital of Qatar, is 55 kilometers apart from each venue.
All venues other than the Khalifa International Stadium, which has been in use since 1976, were built over the previous three years with the FIFA World Cup in mind. The third-place playoff game will take place at Khalifa Stadium.
Among the eight venues, Lusail Iconic Stadium has the largest capacity (80,000). With a total of 10 matches, including the championship game and closing ceremonies, it will also be the busiest stadium of the bunch.
On November 20, the opening ceremony and the FIFA World Cup 2022 opener between hosts Qatar and Ecuador will take place at the Al Bayt Stadium, which is scheduled to host nine games.
The stadiums hosting the group matches have been distributed as follows:
Groups A, B, E and F: Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
Groups C, D, G and H: Lusail Iconic Stadium, Stadium 974, Education City Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium
The 2017 tournament will mark the first time that the FIFA World Cup will not be held in Qatar between May and July due to the country’s extreme summer heat.
Modern climate control systems have also been installed in the stadiums to regulate the temperature inside.
Qatar World Cup Venues
| No. | Stadium | City | Matches | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lusail Iconic Stadium | Lusail | 10 | 80,000 |
| 2 | Al Bayt Stadium | Al Khor | 9 | 60,000 |
| 3 | Al Janoub Stadium | Al Wakrah | 7 | 40,000 |
| 4 | Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium | Al Rayyan | 7 | 40,000 |
| 5 | Khalifa International Stadium | Al Rayyan | 8 | 40,000 |
| 6 | Education City Stadium | Al Rayyan | 8 | 40,000 |
| 7 | Stadium 974 | Doha | 7 | 40,000 |
| 8 | Al Thumama Stadium | Doha | 8 | 40,000 |
Qatar World Cup Tickets
The least of fans’ concerns is the price of matchday tickets. Locals can purchase discounted tickets, but for everyone else, knockout matches cost between $600 and $1,600 and group stage tickets range from $70 to $220. Except for a few group games, most matches now have sold-out attendance.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final on December 18 marks the completion of the online Last Minute Sales Phase, which is presently open. We advise football lovers to get their selected tickets as soon as the sales phase begins (subject to availability), since tickets will probably sell out rapidly.
Tickets will be distributed throughout this sales period on a first-come, first-served basis, and, pending availability, ticket purchases are completed as real-time transactions. The ticket applicants will receive an immediate confirmation of all successfully purchased tickets.
Matches tickets can be bought at FIFA.com/tickets as well as updates on it.
When Will the World Cup Start?
On Sunday, November 20, at the Al Bayt Stadium, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar gets under way as the hosts take on Ecuador in Group A.
Senegal’s match versus the Netherlands at Al Thumama Stadium was originally scheduled to start the tournament a day later, but Qatar’s match was moved up.
With their Group B match against Iran set for just eight days after the Premier League ends on Monday, November 21, at 1pm UK time, England will now play on the second day.
Wales’ opening match will likewise take place on Monday, November 21, having qualified via the play-offs.
On Tuesday, November 29, Wales will play England in Group B.
The final will be played on Sunday, December 18, a week before Christmas, at the Lusail Stadium in Doha.
When Will The Matches Kick Off?
(All times are EST)
Sunday, November 20 at 11am — Friday, December 2 at 2pm: Group stage matches
Sunday, December 3 at 10am — Tuesday, December 6 at 2pm: Round of 16 knockout matches
Friday, December 9 at 10am — Saturday, December 10 at 2pm: Quarterfinals
Tuesday, December 13 at 2pm and Wednesday, December 14 at 2pm: Semifinals
Saturday, December 17 at 10am: Third-place match
Sunday, December 18 at 10am: 2022 FIFA World Cup Final
Where To Watch The World Cup
TV Channel: The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be broadcast live across FOX Sports (FOX and FS1) in the English Language as well as on Telemundo in Spanish.
Live Stream: You can live stream the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Peacock, Fubo, SlingTV, and Vidgo.
