
The highly anticipated 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar between the months of November and December, has been billed as a unique experience for the football fraternity.
Teamkenya.co.ke takes a look at the seven interesting facts about the global football showpiece.
Most expensive ever FIFA World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the most expensive in the rich history of the tournament. It will cost an average of $200 billion (approximately Ksh24 trillion).
The 2018 Russian edition which was then described as the most expensive costed an estimated $14.2 billion (approximately Ksh1.7 trillion).
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Shortest World Cup
Qatar will also host the shortest World Cup since the 1978 edition. The event which will start on November 20 and end on December 18 will last for 28 days.
The 1978 edition which was hosted by Argentina lasted for 25 days.
Least number of stadiums
The 2022 edition will also have the least number of stadiums, 8 to be precise. The 2018 Russia edition had 12 venues.
The 2014 and 2010 editions staged in Brazil and South Africa respectively also had 12 and 10 venues respectively.
Smallest Country to host the FIFA World Cup
Qatar which is ranked number 148 in terms of the global population and has a size of 11,500 square kilometres will also be the smallest nation to host the high profile competition.
First FIFA World Cup to be staged in Winter
The 2022 Qatar World Cup will also be the first edition to be held in Winter due to the high temperatures usually registered in the summer.
It is reported that the temperatures in the Middle East nation reaches 40 degrees Celsius in Summer, thus the decision was made to make the conditions favorable for players, particularly those who are not used to playing in such heat.
Although the temperatures can reach up to 30 degrees Celsius in Winter, all the stadiums have air conditioning.
Traditionally, the competition has been held between the months of May, July and June.
Maiden edition to be hosted by an Arab Country.
Qatar will be the first ever Arab nation to host the competition. No other country in the Middle East has staged a FIFA World Cup before.
Host never played in World Cup
The 2022 edition will also be a special one because Qatar will be the first country since the inception of the tournament to host the football bonanza without having featured in the tournament before.
The host nation will open their Group A campaign against Ecuador on November 20th.
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