The World Cup is coming to Qatar! The 2018 FIFA World Cup was an incredible footballing spectacle; how will the 2022 edition stack up? With the event being hosted in the Middle East for the very first time, there are some things you need to know about the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup.
We’ve compiled everything you need to know about where it will be held, how it will work and its impact on football domestically. Get ready for the biggest sporting event of the year!
Where is the 2022 FIFA World Cup being held?
Qatar is hosting the World Cup in 2022, and for the very first time, the World Cup will be played in the Middle East during the winter months. Kicking off on Monday, 21 November at the Ai Bayt Stadium.
Qatar will be the smallest country ever to host a World Cup competition. It only has about 300,000 citizens, but that will not hinder the government from investing heavily to provide state-of-the-art stadiums and facilities; reports claim that around $6 billion is being invested. Most of the expenses will go towards building stadiums, maintenance towards other nearby infrastructure and a new and improved metro system to mitigate traffic.
The fixtures will be played out in eight different stadiums, starting and closing off with the illustrious Lusail Stadium, which to date, is the most expensive stadium ever built with a total capacity of almost 90,000 seats.
How does the 2022 FIFA World Cup work?
The tournament will consist of 32 national teams competing in a total of 64 matches. The qualified teams need to survive the qualification stages which is by no means an easy feat to accomplish.
One of the most common questions is: “How does the 2022 FIFA World Cup work?” And we are here to explain it all.
Each team is placed into four pots of eight teams depending on the geographical region – meaning that teams from pot 1 – which are from Asia – will not have another Asian country in their groups. The same thing applies to all the other pots.
Teams from each pot are drawn at random, and eight groups of four teams will form the group stages. All teams would get the chance to play against the other teams in their group once and those who finish off as the Winners and Runner-up will automatically progress to the latter stages of the tournament.
The knockout stages of the tournament are then characterised by a bracket system where teams that win their respective groups face runner-up teams and vice versa; making up a total of eight games also known as the ‘Round of 16’.
Each game in the knockout stages will need to have a definitive winner, meaning games that end in a draw will go to extra-time and, if needed, a penalty shootout. Winners from each game will progress to the next round and eventually play in the final on 18 December.
What will happen to the domestic leagues?
Since the decision was taken to proceed with the FIFA World Cup in the winter months, people have been asking how the domestic leagues will adapt? European Leagues such as the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga and the Ligue 1 will have to schedule the start of the campaign a couple of weeks earlier to make room for that month in which the World Cup will be played. With reports suggesting that the elite clubs will keep hold of their players until at least one or two weeks prior to the start of the World Cup. This will be something that in previous editions of the World Cup rarely occurred. Players normally have a month or two to prepare for this major event together with their manager, who will now have to make do with only a week to organise his team.
Players stamina will be stretched to its limits as some individuals might find themselves playing in around 100 games next season – depending on the teams they play with and how well they do in their respective competitions. Lately, both players and coaches have suggested that players are being subjected to a highly intensive schedule that will eventually impact their longevity in the sport. Something that we saw happen to youngster (19) Pedri last season where he took part in 72 games in a single season.
Here is a breakdown of the expected fixtures and their respective dates:
Group stage: 21 November – 2 December
Round of 16: 3-6 December
Quarterfinals: 9/10 December
Semi-finals: 13/14 December
Final: 18 December
Matches will be assigned to venues after the final draw. Organisations can choose optimal kick-off times to suit television audiences in different countries and supporters out in Qatar.
FIFA World Cup 2022 – Roundup
It all kicks off next November, as first-time participants Qatar host the prestigious World Cup, battling it out in luxurious stadiums, against the world’s best players. Will we have a new winner, or will the heavy hitters add to their repertoire? One thing is certain, this tournament will offer drama, joy and agony for most, and we at LV BET will be here to share the experience with you.