A country recognized around the world for its fine Arabian hospitality and breathless landmarks, Qatar is set to amaze travelers from around the world again as the country prepares to host the prestigious FIFA World Cup 2022. Action-packed 64 matches, month-long carnival scenes, and millions of fans from all over the globe in one place, it doesn't get any bigger than this.
But hang on, is that all? Well, the world cup in Qatar is set to be a bit different from other world cups in the past, and if you're a footballing fan preparing for your trip to Qatar in 2022, there are certain things you need to remember before your travels.
So, to help you do the groundwork before your travel to Qatar, we've compiled a list of certain things you need to know before making your trip to Qatar for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022.
Things Worth Knowing Before Traveling To Qatar For The World Cup
The points mentioned below are related to every aspect of the world cup, from Qatar winning the bid for hosting to climate and currency that visitors would be using. Have a look.
How Qatar Won The Bid?
A country not widely renowned when you think of football, Qatar is not a footballing giant by any means unlike other Asian countries like Iran, Japan, or Korea. Hence, it was a surprise in the first place to see Qatar winning the bid to host the FIFA World Cup.
The country defeated the likes of Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the USA. While the USA is, in fact, set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Qatar defeated the USA in the final bidding round to host the world cup in 2022.
Having said that, there are many lingering talks around Qatar winning the bid and how corruption was involved in it. However, investigations for that continue, and only time will tell the truth. For now, the country prepares for the world cup and is well on track to complete its infrastructural projects ahead of the deadline.
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Location Of Qatar
Located right at the center of the earth, Qatar is literally the smallest country ever to host the FIFA World Cup. In fact, the country is an estimated 1478 times smaller than the size of Russia who hosted the last world cup.
However, there are certain pros involved with the location of Qatar. Being a country located at the center, Qatar is easily commutable from virtually all popular destinations around the world.
In fact, the experts believe that the number of visitors coming to Qatar for the world cup maybe somewhere over 1.2 million. Hence, if the numbers turn out to be true, there will be twice as many visitors in Qatar as there were in Brazil during when the FIFA World Cup was held there.
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Climate Of Qatar
This is a question that is lingering in every football fan's mind right now who's longing to book a flight to Qatar. Will the climate in Qatar be feasible for football? Well, being one of the hottest countries to travel in summers, having a world cup in Qatar during June and July is out of the question.
Hence the FIFA World Cup 2022 has been shifted to November and December for the first time ever keeping the hot summer temperatures of Qatar in mind. So, if you're wondering what sort of climate will Qatar have during the world cup, well, the temperature would stay around the mark of 20-25 degrees celsius and it will be pleasant weather to host the world cup.
Flights To Qatar
Being one of the largest transit gateways for overseas travelers in the world today, Qatar is well connected with virtually every destination around the world. There are direct cheap flights available to Qatar at pretty modest prices.
However, considering the rush that the country is set to receive during the FIFA World Cup 2022, the Hamad International Airport and Qatar Airways are set to join hands to bring about 1300 flights into the country on a daily basis for the whole month. The decision has been taken to meet the expected rush of travelers during the world cup.
Besides, as the experts believe it, the number of visitors during the FIFA World Cup may be even higher than expected considering the central location of Qatar. Hence, for any traveler planning to make a trip to Qatar during the FIFA World Cup, there may be a rush to book a flight at the last moments.
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Currency Of Qatar
The currency used in Qatar is Qatari Royal. Travelers coming to the country will have to exchange money for Qatari Royal to use on their travels in the country. Keeping cash will be a mandate as taxis and certain shops in Qatar expect you to pay in cash rather than a card.
Hence, make sure you exchange enough amount of money for Qatari Royal in order to use it on your travels in Qatar.
Host Stadiums For The World Cup
The Qatar 2022 World Cup will officially be the first-ever world cup to host the matches with just 8 stadiums. Initially, there were 12 stadiums that were to host the world cup. However, Qatar's demand to host the competition with just 8 stadiums has been accepted.
The notable thing, in this case, is that out of all the eight stadiums selected for the world cup, seven will be newly built while one will be a refurbished stadium. The best part? All the stadiums will be fully air-conditioned considering the day temperatures in Qatar that can soar up to distressing degrees. This is the first time ever when the stadiums will be fully air-conditioned for the world cup.
Besides, here are the stadiums that will host the matches for FIFA 2022 in Qatar.
- Al Bayt Stadium
- Lusail Stadium
- Khalifa International Stadium
- Al Janoub Stadium
- Al Rayyan Stadium
- Al Thumama Stadium
- Education City Stadium
- Ras Abu Aboud Stadium
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Accommodation In Qatar
One of the biggest challenges that Qatar may face before the world cup is to ramp up its options of accommodations. There have been several reports in the past that have claimed that Qatar doesn't have enough accommodation to meet the requirements for the FIFA World Cup.
Having said that, the current capacity of the country in terms of accommodation falls severely short of the requirements, and visitors may have a problem finding accommodation.
What is also notable is that accommodation in Qatar is much expensive. Even a hostel bed may cost a good amount to the visitor. Hence, the question of accommodation stands wide in front of Qatar, and we won't be surprised if we find to see more new hotels coming up before the world cup in the country.
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Visa Process
Now here's a thing, whenever a popular competition like the world cup happens, the visa fee to the country is generally waived off. Though the visitors are still required to go through the application process, there is no fee charged for the visa.
Having said that, it was Russia who came up with an innovative means in 2018. The country gave Fan ID to the visitors and the IDs were kept compulsory in order to visit the stadiums. In fact, the IDs turned to be so successful that we may even find them being used as standard documents for the upcoming world cups.
The head of the FIFA 2022 Local Organizing Committee Hassan Al Thawadi recently said that there are many ways that the country can adopt for the world cup including the fan IDs and that the world will take inspiration from Russia who has already set the standards high with Fan IDs.
Hence, whether Qatar comes up with such fan IDs as standard documents only remains to be seen.
Laws In Qatar
One of the most important points to remember when you're traveling to this part of the world, the laws in Qatar are different from what you normally find in other countries. Being an Islamic nation, there are certain restrictions that Qatar imposes on the natives and visitors alike.
Hence, here's our take on some of the things who can't afford to do when traveling for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
- Importing either alcohol or drugs in Qatar is strictly prohibited and can get you into serious trouble if done so.
- Pork Products are something you can't possibly bring to Qatar. Being an Islamic country, pork is not served in any part of Qatar, and importing it too is banned.
- Interested in pornography? Well, you might not want to get into that when coming to Qatar. The country strictly prohibits pornography and anybody caught with any DVDs will have serious consequences. So why not focus on the World Cup instead?
- Religious books and other materials, if brought into Qatar, can get you into serious trouble as this is a country that prohibits any sort of religious books and materials to be brought in the country.
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A country that never fails to amaze the visitors, Qatar prepares for the biggest event on earth, and the excitement is telling. Tipped to be the most expensive world cup ever, expectations are high for this country, and if you're a footballing fan planning a trip to Qatar in 2022, the points mentioned above are worth noting down.
So prepare for a grand spectacle, get ready for another roller coaster of football as 32 teams will go head-to-head for supremacy in the FIFA World Cup 2022.
FAQs
The FIFA World Cup 2022 will be held in Qatar in the first-ever winter world cup in the Northern Hemisphere.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 has already been moved from its usual summer spot of June and July to November and December owing to the extreme heat in Qatar.
Qatar won the bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2022, defeating the likes of South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the USA in the bidding rounds.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 will begin on the 21st of November and conclude on 18th December 2022 at the Lusail Stadium, just a week before Christmas.
The preparations in Qatar continue for the world cup with full pace and the country is set to meet the deadline. In fact, Qatar has already confirmed the completion of the Education City stadium which is one of the venues for the world cup.
