Qatar 2022: 100-day countdown begins; Expect Amazing!

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April 20 2024, 07:30 PM

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Qatar World Cup — The stage ie set for Qatar 2022.

Bengaluru/Doha, August 12: All systems go for Qatar 2022 as the 100-day countdown for FIFA World Cup begins today (August 12).

In a break from the normal tradition of hosting the FIFA World Cup in the June-July window, Qatar 2022 will be held in winter with the tournament starting on November 20 and ending on December 18 to coincide with the Qatar National Day.

On Thursday (August 11), FIFA formally advanced the Qatar 2022 World Cup start by a day and given host nation an exclusive Sunday evening slot with a global audience even as the venue for the final -- Lusail Stadium -- hosted its first official match.

Qatar 2022: FIFA World Cup start advanced by a day; Lusail Stadium hosts its first official match Qatar 2022: FIFA World Cup start advanced by a day; Lusail Stadium hosts its first official match

Qatar will now play Ecuador in Doha on November 20 -- just 101 days after FIFA's decision -- stretching the World Cup to 29 days from the 28 agreed seven years ago after a June-July tournament was pushed back to avoid the mid-summer temperature in the Gulf country.

The 29-day affair will still be the shortest World Cup in FIFA history as Qatar hopes to keeps it promise of hosting a compact tournament.

Qatar completed eight stadiums -- Khalifa International, Al Janoub, Educational City, Al Rayyan, Al Bayt, Al Thumama, Stadium 974, Lusail -- for biggest football show on earth.

Many firsts

Qatar 2022 will have many firsts to its credit including being the first to be held in the Middle East and entire Arab region.

At 29 days, the tournament will be the shortest in FIFA World Cup history.

Time has come

Twelve years will have slipped by since Sepp Blatter pulled a card from an envelope and declared Qatar the hosts, giving the Arab world its first crack at putting on the tournament. And now time has come for Qatar to prove that it can play host to an event of such magnitude.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had that his country would apply all its efforts to making a success of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Replicating success

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had that his country would apply all its efforts to making a success of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. "We hope to overcome all the difficulties," Sheikh Tamim had said at a time when Qatar was involved in a political row with its Gulf Co-operation Council neighbours over its alleged support for terrorism.

The Qatari ruler also added his country would also try to outdo the success on the pitch of the Russian team of the 2018 World Cup, who surpassed expectations by reaching the quarterfinals. "Although it'll be hard to repeat that success as we're a small country, but we're very keen on sport," he said.

Legacy

Despite the challenges thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar, who are the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions, completed the construction of stadiums on time which won praise from FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

"2020 had surely been a challenging year for the entire world, and football was no exception. Despite the difficulties, steady progress was made, showing yet again Qatar's continued commitment, under the leadership of the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. I'm sure Qatar will host an unforgettable FIFA World Cup which'll no doubt build a legacy long beyond 2022".