The World Cup is an international soccer tournament contested by senior men’s national teams from various countries across the world. It is the most prestigious football tournament in the world, as well as the most widely viewed and followed single sporting event in the world.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is the 22nd edition of the international tournament. The opening match was held today between the host nation, Qatar, and Ecuador.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 comprises 32 teams split into 8 groups. The 32 teams comprise five African teams namely; Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco, and Tunisia. The groups are as follows;
1. Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
2. Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales
3. Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
4. Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
5. Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
6. Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
7. Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
8. Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
FIFA has expanded the number of teams for the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams from the current 32 teams. Africa will be represented by nine teams from the previous 5.
Previous champions: The World Cup has been won by eight national teams with Brazil being the most successful team with five titles. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy with four titles each, while France, the current champions, and Argentina have won two titles each. England and Spain have also won the title once respectively.
Qatar is the 17th country to host the World Cup. Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, and Mexico have each hosted twice, while Uruguay, Switzerland, Sweden, Chile, England, Argentina, Spain, the United States, Japan, and South Korea (jointly), South Africa, and Russia have each hosted once.
First-ever winter cup: The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 comprises 32 teams with 64 games to be played, however, there are only 8 stadiums available for the 64 games to be played. This is the lowest number of venues for the World Cup in recent years. The lowest number of venues to be used is 6 stadiums when Argentina hosted the competition in 1978.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will have games played inside fully air-conditioned stadiums for the first time ever in the history of the competition due to the harsh weather conditions in the Middle East country.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will have female referees officiating games for the first time ever in the history of the competition. The female referees are Salima Mukansanga, aged 33, Yoshimi Yamashita, aged 36, and Stephanie Frappart, aged 38.
For the first time in the history of the competition, all African teams in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 are managed by indigenes of the country. The coaches are Walid Regragui (Morocco), Aliou Cissé (Senegal), Rigobert Song (Cameroon), Jalel Kadri (Tunisia), and Otto Addo (Ghana).
Most expensive in history: The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is the most expensive in the history of the competition as the host country, Qatar has spent more than $220 billion on infrastructure in preparation for the World Cup. The host country built seven new stadiums for the competition.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is the most compact in the history of the competition as all the stadiums are within a 55-kilometre radius of central Doha, which means commuting will be easier for teams and fans.
Host country, Qatar is the smallest host country in the history of the competition. With a population of 2.9million and a land area of 11,571 square meters.
Financial rewards: In the last edition of the FIFA World Cup, Russia 2018, a total of $400 million was shared amongst the participants in form of prize money which saw current champions, France rewarded with a whopping $38 million while the runner-up was rewarded with $28 million.
In this year’s edition, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the prize money to be shared amongst the participants has seen a little increment from $400million in the last edition to $440million. The breakdown of the $440 million is as follows:
1. Group Stage: $9 million per team ($144 million in total for 16 teams)
2. Last 16: $13 million per team ($104 million in total for 8 teams)
3. Quarter-finals: $17 million per team ($68 million in total for 4 teams)
4. Fourth place: $25 million
5. Third place: $27 million
6. Runner up: $30 million
7. Champion: $42 million
In total, the prize money is $440million.
