In 97 days, 32 countries will gather in the Gulf country of Qatar to compete in the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup with defending champions France hoping to defend their title.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will kick off on Sunday, November 20 at the Al Bayt Stadium while the final game on December 18 will be staged at the Lusail Stadium.
Football fans particularly are optimistic to see how Qatar will host the biggest football festival in 97 days.
To mark the 97 days until the tournament starts, here are five unique things you need to know about the FIFA World Cup as put together by GhanaWeb.
First World Cup in November/December
The first World Cup was staged on July 1930 between 13 countries namely Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, United States, Uruguay, and Yugoslavia after FIFA decided to hold its own international tournament outside of the Olympics.
The World Cup after 1930 has been played during the summer break, June/July but for the first time in history, the Mundial will be held in November/December because the weather conditions in Qatar between June/July are not suitable for football.
Last World Cup with 32 teams
After 24 years and six World Cup editions, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be the last time that thirty-two countries will compete for the trophy.
France hosted the first 32 countries World Cup in 1998 and Qatar will see the last of this form as FIFA has extended the number of countries to 48 starting from the 2026 Mundial.
FIFA confirmed on January 10, 2017, that the 2026 World Cup would expand participation to 48 teams. The United States, Mexico, and Canada will host the first edition of the new format.
Most Expensive World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the most expensive Mundial tournament as Russia spent close to $15 billion but Qatar have spent 14 times the amount used by the European country four years ago.
Qatar have reportedly spent $220 billion on the upcoming 2022 world cup to build infrastructure including the new stadiums to host the tournament.
Increased Prize Money
The expensive nature of the 2022 FIFA World Cup will also show in the prize monies as FIFA has announced an increase in the amount that will be paid to the winner and other respective positions.
According to reports, the winner of the 2022 World Cup will go home with $42 million which is $3 million bigger than what was paid to France as the winner of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Semi-automated offside technology
FIFA on Friday, July 1, announced that semi-automated offside technology will be used at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
This comes after the successful implementation of the VAR technology at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia as the football governing body continues its quest to support match officials to make the best of calls on matchdays.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino declared in The Vision 2020-23 that FIFA would strive to harness the full potential of technology in football and further enhance VAR.
Author: Joel Eshun
