Three years until 2022 Qatar World Cup kicks off

The countdown to the 2022 World Cup is well underway with the tournament kicking-off on November 21st (2022). The competition will run through to December 18 when the final will be staged at the 80,000 capacity Lusail Stadium which also coincides with Qatar national day. 

Eight stadiums will be used to stage the tournament with two already completed: The Khalifa International Stadium in the Baaya area of Doha which was redesigned fo the competition. The Al Janoub Stadium, formerly known as Al Wakrah Stadium was opened in May 2019 and is the first completed World Cup ground built from scratch. At present another six stadia are under construction and are expected to be completed in 2020.   

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The size of the country and proximity of the World Cup venues are set to be an advantage for supporters with 55km the longest distance between the furthest ground (Al Bayt stadium to the north of Doha and the Al Janoub in Al Wakrah). Only five kilometres separate the Al Rayyan stadium from the Education City ground outside downtown Doha with proximity permitting fans to attend more than one match on any given day during the competition.

Lusail Stadium, crowning glory

Innovation has been central to the construction process in Qatar with the Ras Abu Aboud stadium set to be the first ever ground which can be dismantled after the tournament with the 80,000 capacity Lusail Stadium the jewel in the crown and the venus for the opening and final game of the competition.

Moving the World Cup to November will also see games played in moderate temperatures with the mean average daytime temperature for Qatar in November and December ranging from 18 to 24 degrees Celsius. Early estimations suggest some 1.5 million fans will visit the Gulf state during the month of the competition with hotels, apartments, desert "jaimas" and even cruise ships being used to house the influx of football fans.