The European qualifying round concluded on Tuesday, with the ten group winners all booking their tickets to the finals.
Earlier this month, Brazil and Argentina became the first teams from South America to qualify.
210 teams set out on the journey to the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, 32 will make it, but only one will lift the trophy, which has been won by only eight national teams since the first tournament
in 1930. To date, 13 teams are confirmed for Qatar 2022 (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Qatar (host), Serbia, Spain, Switzerland), while
766 qualifying matches have been played, and 2,200 goals have been scored (regularly updated here).
The draw to determine the pairings for the European play-offs will be held in Zurich, Switzerland,
on Friday, 26 November 2021 at 17:00 CET. More details on the other confederation and intercontinental play-off draws will follow in due course.
Stadiums and infrastructure
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be held in eight state-of-the-art stadiums. All venues and infrastructure for the final tournament are well on track, with main contractor works on the Final venue, Lusail stadium, having been completed; each will be tested ahead of the event. By the end
of 2021, seven of the eight venues will have been inaugurated: Ahmad Bin Ali, Al Bayt, Al Janoub, Al Thumama, Education City, Khalifa International and 974 (Ras Abu Aboud).
Lusail Stadium, the
setting for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final, will open its doors early next year.
Workers’ welfare
FIFA recognises its responsibility, in accordance with its Human Rights Policy and the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights, to ensure that human rights are respected in all activities
associated with its operations. The FIFA World Cup has made a significant contribution to improved
labour conditions in Qatar, particularly through the heightened standards put in place by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) through its Workers’ Welfare Programme. The robustness of this programme has repeatedly been recognised by experts and trade unions over the years, and as stated in a recent UN report, it has brought about “impressive changes” and “sweeping reforms” within the host country. These measures have also seen improvements for workers who are not directly involved in the delivery of the FIFA World Cup.
Ever since the FIFA World Cup 2022 was awarded to Qatar in 2010, there has been a major collective effort from the local authorities and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to
achieve wider legislative change in the area of workers’ rights.
Last year, a region-first permanent minimum wage and the scrapping of no objection certificates were announced.
These changes, in
addition to the removal of exit permits, have signalled the end of the “kafala” system and have been widely commended by international organisations, such as the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), the ILO, and the Centre
for Sport and Human Rights.
As always, when it comes to major labour reforms, there is still work to be done for those changes to be fully implemented across the labour market, but the reforms have already benefitted hundreds of thousands of workers in Qatar and significant progress has been achieved in a very short period of time thanks to the commitment of the highest authorities in
the country.
FIFA, together with its counterparts in Qatar, continues to implement and further expand the wellrecognised systems to protect workers involved in FIFA World Cup preparations and delivery, including through a thorough audit and compliance regime with companies involved in FIFA World
Cup-related activities, and an increasing focus towards the service sector as the tournament fast
approaches.
FIFA will continue to push for greater protection of workers and promote the
implementation of wider labour reforms in Qatar through constructive dialogue with the Qatari authorities and joint efforts with other stakeholders.
FIFA has no doubt that the event will leave a
lasting legacy and will serve as a catalyst for broader positive social change in the host country and across the region.
FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021
The FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021, the biggest operational test ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, will be played between 30 November and 18 December 2021, concluding exactly one year to the day before the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final.
The FIFA Arab Cup will be a vital operational trial for the FIFA World Cup next year, with four matches per day during the group stage and fans having the chance to attend more than one game during the early stages of the event.
Making the most of Qatar’s compact nature, FIFA and the SC are working on optimising operations and centralising many services, such as accreditation, volunteers and media operations.
Tickets are currently on sale via FIFA.com/tickets or over the counter at the FIFA Venue Ticketing
Centre in Doha.
Volunteers Programme
Applications for people who wish to volunteer for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will open early next year via FIFA’s dedicated platform.
FIFA World Cup ticket sales
Ticket sales for the FIFA World Cup 2022 are scheduled to start early next year via FIFA.com/tickets.
FIFA World Cup Hospitality sales
Although only 13 of the 32 teams are confirmed, more than 82,500 hospitality packages have already been sold to guests from more than 60 countries, with the top five being Qatar, Mexico, the USA, Argentina and India. The top five teams of interest for hospitality guests are currently
Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Qatar and England.
Compared to the same stage of sales for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, hospitality sales are up by more than 500%, and some 48% of the total number of packages sold for 2018 have already been booked.
Commercial Affiliates and media rights
Over the past 12 months, FIFA has seen unprecedented levels of interest in its commercial programme for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Driven by a reinvigorated sales strategy, FIFA has
secured significant new sponsorship revenues with a wider portfolio of commercial partners across global and regional properties.
We will be announcing more of these new partnerships over the
coming 12 weeks, including new FIFA Partners and new FIFA World Cup 2022 Sponsors at global
level.
With these deals soon to be announced or currently under contract, FIFA now has only one
remaining global sponsorship position available for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and there is
strong interest in this final package.
At the Regional Supporter level, there is only one remaining position available in the host region of
Middle East & Africa.
Likewise, in South America, three deals have been signed and there is only
one package left in that market. Very active sales programmes are also underway in the other three regions of North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Given the sales activity and the level of interest
with 12 months to go until the start of the tournament, FIFA is on track to sell all available sponsorship positions for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in every region.
When it comes to broadcasting, FIFA has completed its media rights sales in the majority of markets
worldwide. Over the last 12 months, several broadcast partners have come on board, including Rai in Italy, Antenna TV in Greece, Viacom in India, New World TV and SuperSport in Sub-Saharan
Africa (for French – and English-language rights respectively).
The latest list can also be found here
on FIFA.com.
Team Base Camps (TBCs)
FIFA is managing the teams’ final selection process through an online selection tool based on a first-come, first-served principle.
So far, 23 member associations have visited Qatar (some more than once) and have selected a priority option for their Team Base Camp. More visits will follow
soon.
Climate
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be played from 21 November to 18 December 2022, when it will be winter in Qatar and the average temperatures range between 15°C and 24°C.
This will represent a nice “warm break” for fans visiting from Europe and North America, for example.
The weather will be perfect for fans to experience al fresco drinking and dining, water sports, and
beach and park activities across the country.
Accommodation
Qatar is committed to using every available accommodation option in the country to deliver a sustainable FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and to ensure that it offers fans a range of unique and innovative options during the tournament.
Qatar will have up to 130,000 rooms available for the more than one million fans expected to descend upon Qatar during the 28-day tournament.
The room inventory consists of traditional 2-5* hotel rooms, temporarily moored cruise ships, known as “floating hotels”, serviced apartments and villas, and desert camps.
Alcohol availability
Alcohol is already available in Qatar at a variety of licensed hotel bars and restaurants across the
country, and it will also be available in additional fan and hospitality locations at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The host country and FIFA are working to provide options that will cater to all local and
visiting fans, and further details will be communicated in due course.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC (Q22) currently has 313 staff members. By the time of the tournament, it should have almost 1,000 employees.
COVID-19
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as was the case for the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar
2020 and the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 qualifiers held in June 2021, Qatar, as the host country, will provide the safeguards required to protect the health and safety of all involved in the competition.
All attendees must follow the travel advice from the Qatari authorities and the latest guidance from the Ministry of Public Health.
Full information on COVID-19 safety measures will be communicated to all client groups as we approach the competition.
Source: FIFA Media
