Doha, 7 November 2022 (TDI): FIFA World Cup 2022 is set to kick off in Qatar on Sunday, 20 November, the first-ever tournament hosted in the Middle East.
The draw for the World Cup was conducted on 1 April 2022 to set the comprehensive group stage schedule including dates and times for the main event.
Slogan, Emblem, and Soundtrack
This year, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 slogan is “Now is All.” The slogan means, “when you live your dream, realize your destiny and own the moment.”
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The emblem resembles the traditional woolen shawl that men and women wear across the Arab world during the winter months.
FIFA will have a multi-song official soundtrack with four songs called The World is Yours to Take, Arhbo, Better Together and Light the Sky.
Dates of the tournament
The matches will take place from 20 November to 2 December, four matches will be played each day during this period, with qualifying teams entering quarter-finals from 9 to 10 December.
The semi-finals are expected from 13 to14 December, with December 18 as the tournament’s final day.
Venues of the tournament
The event will be held in eight stadiums across five cities in Qatar, including Lusail, Al Khor, Al Rayyan, Al Wakrah, and Doha. It is worth mentioning below that only one stadium was renovated, while the other 7 are newly constructed in the country.
These venues include Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Stadium, Stadium 974, Education City Stadium, and Al Janoub Stadium.
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The stadiums have a capacity ranging from a minimum of 40,000 people to 80,000.
Teams qualified for World Cup
This year 32 teams will participate in the world cup in eight groups of four. The groups include
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, and the Netherlands
Group B: England, IR Iran, USA, and Wales
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, and Tunisia
Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, and Japan
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, and Croatia
Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, and Cameroon
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, and Korea Republic
Top footballers of the world will participate in this tournament, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Harry Kane, and Mohamed Salah, among the big names.
It is pertinent to mention here that this world cup will witness the participation of female referees for the very first time. This decision of Qatar was made to indicate the development of women in football.
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