The World Cup in Qatar is right around the corner, and there are certain things you need to know about it. The competition will be unique in many ways, so you may not be able to apply your knowledge of past events to discuss this upcoming edition. Here are all the most important facts about the 22nd iteration of the world’s most beloved sporting event that can be read here at Justaguything.
The Facts and Figures – These May Shock You
The Qatar World Cup is the first one to take place in the Arab world and the second one in Asia after Japan and South Korea hosted it in 2002. It’s the last tournament that will feature 32 teams, as the 2026 event in North America will be inflated to a whopping 48 nations. France is the reigning champions after having won the last World Cup in Russia in 2018 and will be among the favourites to lift the coveted trophy again.
It is estimated that Qatar has spent more than £138 billion in its preparations for the tournament, and this investment has mainly been in building new stadiums, facilities, and transport systems. There will also be a new city for the opening ceremony and the final. Lusail is currently under construction and has cost approximately £28 billion. To put this spending into perspective, South Africa “only” forked out £3.5 billion on the 2010 World Cup, and Russia spent just shy of £9 billion in 2018. This is hugely exciting for fans, who may see one of the most ambitious and extravagant events ever.
Qatar will be using this opportunity to make a name for itself in the world of football and boost its commercial interests, but it will also be able to recoup a vast amount of the money spent when the world’s eyes are on it next year. They will do this through tourism spend in the country, ticket sales at the stadiums, and selling broadcasting rights to international companies.
Other related industries make a huge amount of money from the World Cup as well. According to CNBC, a large portion of the revenue goes straight back to FIFA, which earned £4.5 billion from the tournament in Russia. Television networks and betting sites will also flourish during the event. With sports betting now taking place online, more bettors than ever before can stake on competitions. At sites like SBO.net, they can find welcome bonuses that include free bets and deposit matches, and there will likely be price boosts and specials for the World Cup. Betting in physical locations is not permitted in Qatar, so online sites will provide the solution for people who want to wager.
Amazing New Stadiums
Qatar is set to unveil some of the world’s most state-of-the-art stadiums for the World Cup, with features that have never been seen before in the sporting world. Organisers have spent £107 billion of the budget in building the stadiums, and they have pumped further investment into the high-tech features within them.
There are eight planned stadiums for the 2022 competition, and seven have been revealed so far. These are all astonishing works of architectural superiority and are already among the most beautiful sporting grounds in the world. Each one is designed to look different, with the 60,000-seater Al Bayt made to look like the tents that nomadic people in the Gulf region used to use. This is the location for the opening match of the competition, and should look stunning when lit up with fireworks.
The German financial analyst Nicola Ritter announced that £30 billion has gone into ensuring the stadiums will have air conditioning, meaning that fans can rest-assured that they will have a comfortable experience on match days. One of the main issues concerning Qatar hosting the event was that the stadiums would be too hot, so this news should alleviate some fears and persuade travellers to buy tickets for the matches.
The final thing to note is that Qatar 2022 will be the first time the tournament takes place in winter months, after having always been hosted in May, June, or July in the past. This is because the temperature in November and December is around 24 °C, whereas in the summer it hits highs of 43 °C. This should be an incredible event, and it’s time to start getting hyped about it.
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