The Qatar World Cup is already making history for being the first edition held at the end of the year and in a country in the Middle East, but these are not the only curiosities of this edition.

1. The most expensive world cup in history

As the first representative of the Middle East to host a FIFA World Cup™, Qatar invested heavily. In all, the country should end the World Cup with investments greater than US$ 200 billion, according to data from the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. The amount was used to expand the transport and hotel infrastructure and, of course, to build the event’s official stadiums. With that, the 2022 edition of the competition is already considered the most expensive in history.

2. Qatar’s sport is not football

One of the reasons for so much investment is the fact that football is not a popular sport in Qatar. Over there, the passion is cricket, a game of bats very similar to baseball. To host the FIFA World Cup™, the country had to build seven new stadiums and renovate one.

3. A whole new city for worlds

In this plan to transform the country into a great football arena, Qatar accelerated a project that was already underway: the construction of the city of Lusail, in the middle of the desert, 24 kilometers from Doha, the country’s capital.

4. First collapsible stadium

The Lusail Stadium will be the grand venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ Final, but Stadium 974 will also go down in competition history for being the first FIFA standard arena that is completely detachable and reusable. The 974 was completely built with certified containers and modular steel elements. That is, the stadium can be dismantled and rebuilt with the same materials and the same size anywhere. And the name “974” refers to the number of containers used to lift the arena.

5. The most compact FIFA World Cup™ in history

Qatar is a small country. It has around 3 million inhabitants and almost half of them are in Doha. It is no wonder that FIFA classifies this edition of the World Cup as the most compact tournament of all time. The 2022 FIFA World Cup™ will be held in eight stadiums across Qatar. But FIFA calculates that fans can watch at least two matches in a single day. The biggest distance between the stadiums is 75 kilometers, and the smallest is only 5 kilometers.

6. First World Cup with more players per team

Traditionally, national teams can call up 23 players, including goalkeepers. As of the 2022 edition, that number rose to 26, but not mandatory. According to FIFA, the change is due to the impact of covid-19 on teams.

7. Last World Cup with 32 teams

Another curiosity that marks the FIFA World Cup 2022™ is that it is the last edition with 32 teams. As of 2026, 48 teams will be able to participate in the tournament.

8. Biggest award in history

The 2022 edition will pay the biggest prize in history to the world champion team. There will be US$ 42 million for the first place, US$ 30 million for the runner-up and US$ 27 million for the third place. See the other awards, according to FIFA data: 4th place: $25 million 5th to 8th Place: $17 million 9th to 16th Place: $13 million Eliminated in the group stage: $9 million

9. Nearly 3 million tickets sold

According to information from FIFA on October 17th, almost 3 million tickets were sold for the games in this edition of the football world cup. Fans from Qatar, the United States, Saudi Arabia, England, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, France, Brazil and Germany are the ones that bought the most tickets.

10. Mascot is “skilled player”

This is the meaning of La’eeb, the name of the official mascot of the 2022 FIFA World Cup™. The character wears the famous scarf of Arab culture, called a hijab.

11. The ball is “the journey”

In addition to the mascot, the official World Cup ball also has a registered trademark. In this 2022 edition of the competition, the ball is being called “Al Rihla”, which means “the journey” in Portuguese, and bears the colors of the Qatari flag.

12. Emblem represents the dunes of the Qatari desert

The symbol of the 2022 World Cup, which accompanies the name of the event in several places, has many meanings. According to FIFA, the burgundy and white colors are borrowed from the flag of Qatar. The design of the emblem is, at the same time, the number eight, the infinity symbol and the desert. Number eight is the number of stadiums that will host the games. The infinite, according to FIFA, represents the fusion between tradition and modernity. In addition, the curves of this symbol also pay homage to the dunes of the Qatari deserts.

13. 500 thousand volunteer candidates

This is the number of people who have signed up to volunteer for the FIFA World Cup 2022™. Candidates were from 160 nationalities, aged between 18 and 77 years old. In all, 20 thousand people were selected and trained to help in the world cup.

14. First edition with female referees

For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup™, the refereeing team will have women. Six professionals are among the 36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video referees.

15. The trophy is the same since 1974

In the face of so many novelties and curiosities, one thing remains the same: the trophy. According to Conmebol, it was designed by sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, who worked for the Bertoni company in Milan, Italy.
source: https://blog.nubank.com.br/
The trophy shows two figures of athletes holding the Earth and, since 1974, it has not changed at all: it is made of 18 carat gold, is 36.8 cm tall and weighs 6.1 kg, according to FIFA. #football #fifa2022 #players #bet #betfifa2022 #bestbet #onlinecasino #onlinegaming #affiliates #affiliate #afiliados #apostas #fomento #fomentoagency