World Cup 2022: What to Expect

Every four years an international competition draws attention from kids to grandparents around the globe. The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is in charge of introducing you to 32 men national teams from the six soccer confederations in different continents that belong to FIFA.

Moreover, in 2022 the World Cup will be hosted in Qatar, being the first tournament to be held in the Arab world. Also, this World Cup will be the last one to have 32 national teams competing because for the future it is planned to increase it to 48 teams.

The Iconic Mexican Jersey worn by many fans during games*

Getting back on the topic, the 2022 Qatar World Cup will have a completely different schedule from those in the past. First of all, the tournament will be played from November to December 2022, and not in the summertime to avoid the Arabian Peninsula’s intense heat. The time zone is also a big factor because the matches will be held early in the morning where most of the people interested in watching the games will be sleeping.

Secondly, the first match between the host nation and a second team to be determined will take place on November 21, 2022 at 5 a.m. in the eastern standard time, about 2 a.m. in the pacific standard time. There would be four group stage matches that would be playing, instead of three like in previous World Cups. This will give the teams a three-day rest, and they wouldn’t have to travel by air between games because of Qatar’s tiny geography.

However, the matches will not be assigned to particular venues or start times until after the draw that will be done in March 2022 to give television audiences and Qatar fans optimal start times. (www.washingtonpost.com/sports)

The 2022 World Cup will have seven completely new stadiums and one that was fully remodeled. To mention one, the Al-Khalifa International is the one that was refurbished and officially opened its doors in 2017 with a capacity of 40,000. This stadium will hold matches in Qatar all the way through the quarter finals. (www.en.as.com/en)

To sum up, the holiday season of 2022 will be filled with soccer spirit since the worldwide attention will be focused on those exciting matches. It can be said that a great Christmas present for the soccer fans can be their favorite national team winning the cup.

Below are some Tweets and Instagram posts regarding the world cup:

*Photographed by Stacy Vazquez