How did a country with no significant footballing tradition, no suitable existing infrastructure and a climate completely unsuited to a summer tournament – but with almost limitless cash – procure the right to host one of the world’s greatest sporting competitions? One day the full story may emerge,
It is difficult to conceive of a less appropriate nation to be the sole venue for the 2022 Fifa World Cup – an honour bestowed on Qatar in 2010.
In March 2015, it was announced that the tournament would be played in early winter to avoid the intense summer heat, even though it meant ripping the heart out of European football seasons to accommodate the shift.
Ahead of kick-off on 21 November, stadiums are being completed on random patches of desert.
The traditional camaraderie and international understanding that every World Cup fosters – most recently in the highly successful Russia 2018 – will be largely absent, and, more prosaically fans still don’t know the rules about getting a beer.
Yet since Qatar 2022 is going ahead, all we can do is try to make the best of it. This is your essential survival kit.
Just remind me about Qatar?
The host of the World Cup 2022 is a thumb of territory barely half the size of Wales protruding from the Arabian peninsula into the Gulf.
Doha, the capital, is on the same latitude as Miami and Hong Kong, and the same longitude as Tehran and Baku. It shares a land border with Saudi Arabia and is close to Bahrain, with Abu Dhabi in the UAE 200 miles east and Dubai slightly further.
The UK is about 3,300 miles away – roughly seven hours’ flying time.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy – the Qatari body organising the tournament – says the “compact nature” of the tournament will have a positive impact on players and fans.
The organisation says: “Not only will fans be able to watch more than one match in a single day, they will also avoid the long journeys to other matches seen in previous Fifa World Cups – where some games were played thousands of miles apart.”
When does it start and end?
The opening match – and Qatar’s first-ever World Cup game – kicks off against Ecuador at 1pm local time (10am GMT) on 21 November 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium in the town of Al Khor, in the northeast of Qatar.
The final is at 3pm local time (12 noon GMT) on 18 December at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, north of Doha.
What awaits England and Wales ?
Both home teams are in Group B, along with Iran and the USA. All Group B…
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