When Qatar was announced as the host nation for the 2022 World Cup, shockwaves rippled throughout the sporting world. This tiny gulf nation had been selected to host one of the biggest sporting events on the planet and FIFA, already embroiled in allegations of corruption, came under increased scrutiny as a result of the decision.
That was December 2010. Back then, the idea of a World Cup in Qatar felt distant and unreal — a desert mirage far on the horizon. Now though, we are just a matter of weeks away, and football has had to wake up to the reality of this Qatar World Cup and all its strange accompaniments.
For the first time, the World Cup will be staged in November and December due to the extreme heat in Qatar during the summer months. Before the decision had been made to move the tournament to winter, the idea of having artificial clouds above stadiums as a way of lowering the temperature had been mooted, but eventually it was decided that there was no feasible way to safely hold the 2022 World Cup in its usual June and July slot.
The change in dates means this World Cup will be more condensed than previous tournaments. Throughout the group stage, there will be four matches on most days as teams race to reach the knockout stages. It will be interesting to see whether the frantic schedule has any bearing on the World Cup 2022 odds.
Ever since the change of dates was proposed in early 2015, this World Cup has felt like a strange outlier, and the tournament has been littered with controversies in the 12 years since winning the hosting bid. Further allegations of corruption have engulfed FIFA in recent times, casting doubts on the process of awarding Qatar hosting rights, and rendering the 2022 World Cup as something of an elephant in the room.
Controversy surrounding the treatment of migrant workers employed to build the stadiums for the tournament has also been a running theme for over a decade. There have been numerous deaths in the process of the arenas being built, and that has brought further scrutiny on Qatar’s ability to safely host an event of such scale, especially when you consider their purpose after the tournament.
It feels as though the journey to this World Cup has gone on and on, but it is nearly time for the football to do the talking. This will be the last World Cup to feature 32 teams, with the 2026 tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada set to welcome 48 nations, and as such fans will be revelling in what many regard as the perfect format for an international tournament.
It will be interesting to see whether a compelling, entertaining World Cup on the pitch will detract from the controversies surrounding the tournament off it. The 12 years of waiting are nearly up for Qatar, but you get the sense that there is more drama to unfold — both on the pitch and off it — before this chapter of World Cup history comes to a close.
