The 2022 FIFA World CupTM in Qatar is the first to be hosted in the Middle East and the most geographically compact since the tournament was first held in 1930. The 2022 FIFA World CupTM is unique in many ways, with a number of opportunities and sustainability challenges being no exception.
The FIFA World CupTM is the largest sporting competition in the world. After the preliminary round, 32 qualifying men's national football teams compete to become world champions in the final round, which will be played over a month in a host country chosen by FIFA.
More than a million viewers are expected to watch the 64 matches of the tournament, with the competition reaching a global home television audience of over 3 billion people, with more than a billion fans watching the final. In addition to the matches, there are a number of other official events related to the competition, including draws, team and referee seminars and workshops, opening and closing ceremonies, award ceremonies, cultural events, press conferences, and opening events.
Hosting a FIFA World CupTM often represents a historic milestone and symbolic achievement for the host country, with significant impacts on local communities, infrastructure development, and service delivery. This includes hiring and training thousands of workers and volunteers, transporting hundreds of thousands of fans, and protecting the health and safety of people during the tournament. The scale and complexity of the tournament can create significant opportunities for all involved but also pose a number of risks that need to be managed effectively in order to successfully organize the tournament.
THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2022
The 2022 FIFA World CupTM, awarded to Qatar in December 2010, will be the first FIFA World CupTM in the Middle East. This is an extraordinary opportunity for the region to host and connect with billions of people from around the world, to showcase their unique identity and culture, and to build new bridges of understanding.
The tournament will take place from November 21 to December 18, 2022, when the average temperature in Qatar is between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius. Early in the planning process, the Qatar tournament was moved to the winter to protect athletes and visitors from the summer heat.
It will also have the most compact geographical footprint in the history of the tournament since the stadium was first used in 1930, with all stadiums located within a 50-kilometer radius of the center of Qatar's capital, Doha. This hosting concept means viewers and players will spend less time traveling and more time enjoying the tournament, and it will create opportunities to centralize the delivery of some services and content.
