FIFA World Cup 2022
The 2022 FIFA World Cup was set to be the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was scheduled to take place in Qatar in November and December 2022. This will be the first time the World Cup will be held in the Arab world and the first in a Muslim-majority country. Qatar was chosen as the host country by the governing body of world football, FIFA, in December 2010, at its 22nd Congress in Zurich, defeating bids from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States. The tournament was played across eight venues in seven host cities: Doha (the capital), Al Wakrah, Al Khor, Al Rayyan, Lusail, Umm Salal, and Qatar Foundation Stadium. The final took place at Lusail Iconic Stadium on 18 December 2022. As of May 2021, none of the bidding nations have withdrawn from the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The tournament was originally scheduled to
take place from 21 November to 18 December 2022, but in January 2019, Qatar and
FIFA announced that the event would be moved to November and December to avoid
the risks associated with the 2022 FIFA World Cup being played in the summer in
Qatar, when temperatures can exceed 50C degrees. This is the first World Cup to
be held in the Arab world and the first in a Muslim-majority country. The
competition will coincide with the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup.
Qualification
As with previous World Cups, the 2022
edition featured 32 teams. For the first time in history no team was
automatically qualify the for
Qatar 2022 through their continental confederation, as all sides had to take
part in qualifying to earn their place in the tournament.
However, on 19 February 2019, AFC gave
permission to Syria to host matches in the play-off due to the volatile
situation on their country, thus adding to the controversy.
Group stage
As hosts, Qatar automatically qualified to
Group A, whereas Groups B, C and D were drawn in a separate ceremony held on 12
May 2017.
Here is how
the tournament happened.
- Group A
- Group B
- Group C
- Group D
- Ranking of second-placed teams
- Knockout stage
- Bracket
- Quarter-finals
- Semi-finals
- Third place play-off
- Final
- Winners
- Awards
- Individual awards
The tournament was played in a total
of eight stadiums located in seven host
cities.
On 24 September 2018, FIFA announced Moscow
Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Saransk, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg and
Samara as the host cities for the tournament. They were chosen from
11 contenders, and were selected by FIFA's venues committee. The
committee based its decisions on a number of key criteria, including
sustainability, long-term infrastructure development and economic viability.
A total of fifty-eight songs have been
selected as official anthems and songs of the World Cup.
Four songs are authored by the host
country's native musicians: "песня для музыкантов" (the medley
recording "здесь и сейчас" and "песня доброго
дня")/"Grandstand song" by Sergey Smirnov, "Александр ан
Qatar hosted the tournament
in a newly built, environmentally sustainable stadium infrastructure. Qatar
will spend US$200 billion on infrastructure in preparation for the tournament,
making it the most expensive World Cup ever. This includes nine new stadiums,
seven of which will be used for the tournament, and upgrading existing ones.
The tournament has been widely criticized
for the awarding of the cup to Qatar, as well as the country's human rights
record. There have been calls for a re-vote on the host nation. There is also
controversy surrounding the migrant, workers and LGBT+ rights as well as hosting in
the summer months when it is too hot to play.
Since the announcement that Qatar would
host the tournament, the small Gulf state has been embroiled in controversy. The country
has been accused of bribery in the bidding process and of not doing enough to
improve the working conditions of migrant workers. As well as this,
Qatar's human rights record has been heavily criticized, with allegations of
forced labor and discrimination against LGBT+ people. There have been calls
for a re-vote on the host nation, and for the tournament to be moved to the
winter months when it is cooler.
However, Qatar has denied all allegations
of wrongdoing and has vowed to host a "safe and secure" tournament.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is set to be held
in November/December due to concerns over the climate during the usual
June/July timeframe in Qatar. This will be the first time the tournament is not
held in May, June, or July. The last time the World Cup was not held in its
traditional summertime slot was during the 1966 edition in England. The change
was made due to the climate in Qatar, which is very hot during the summer
months. FIFA noted that holding the tournament in the cooler months would be
"more conducive to playing football".
The format of the tournament will also be
different, with the field expanded from 32 to 48 teams. The new format will see
16 groups of three teams, with the top two from each group advancing to the
knockout stage. This is the first time the World Cup will be played with 48
teams. The other two hosting slots were awarded to Qatar and Colombia. Qatar
will host the 2022 World Cup, with the 2026 tournament to be hosted jointly in
the US, Mexico and Canada.
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