MIAMI — One year from Sunday, on Nov. 21, 2022, the world’s eyes will shift to Qatar, a tiny desert peninsula smaller than the state of Connecticut, which aims to quiet critics and prove it can pull off a World Cup.
Hosting the global soccer tournament is a daunting task for any country, but especially for one that has no history of handling massive sporting events and is expecting an influx of 1.2 million visitors – nearly half the size of the nation’s population.
The entire tournament will be held in and around the capital city of Doha, with all eight stadiums within a 45-minute drive of the city center.
World Cups are typically spread over numerous cities all over a country, with teams, fans and media required to travel by plane and train from venue to venue, often across different time zones.
But this is not your typical World Cup.
The 2022 World Cup will be the first held in the Middle East and the first held in November and December, due to Qatar’s sweltering summer heat, which reaches temperatures of over 110 degrees. Even in the mild winter the weather can be quite warm, so all eight open-air stadiums will be air conditioned through ankle-level vents for fans and larger vents around the field.
Alexi Lalas, the former U.S. national team star who is now a commentator for Fox Sports, toured the Qatar facilities in September. He was skeptical when he arrived but left “cautiously optimistic” that the hosts will overcome obstacles and put on a successful event.
“They’ve done some amazing things already, so I put nothing past them,” Lalas said. “They air conditioned outdoor stadiums. They put the redhead in the desert and within five steps I’m sweating my (butt) off, and then I walk into the stadium and on the field and it was liking being in a completely different country, different climate. The roof is open but it’s a completely different temperature. They did what they promised they’d do.”
Qatar has been making promises since beating the United States for the bid 11 years ago, a controversial win that sparked accusations of bribery and led to a FIFA investigation. FIFA cleared Qatar of wrongdoing.
The Gulf nation has also been criticized for alleged human rights violations regarding working conditions of hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers, many of whom were tasked with building World Cup stadiums. Since 2015, the Qatari government has adopted labor reforms.
The nation’s discriminatory policies toward the gay community have also come under scrutiny. Event organizers announced they will allow rainbow flags to comply with FIFA rules that require tolerance and inclusion.
There have been concerns about whether the Doha area can house all the visiting fans and accommodate the many thousands who arrive with no reserved tickets or lodging. Officials have offered assurances that there will be rooms on floating cruise ship hotels, at vacation homes, in prefab dorms and air-conditioned tents and campgrounds.
The winter schedule means professional leagues in Europe and other parts of the world will have to break mid-season for about six weeks. Major League Soccer will not have its season interrupted because the MLS Cup final will be held a few weeks before the start of the World Cup. The MLS season was moved up three weeks, with a Feb. 26 start to ensure there would be no conflict.
“I am incredibly curious how it will play out because this is uncharted territory for everybody,” Lalas said. “There is no precedent for any these players, teams or leagues. The EPL came out with their adjusted schedule; and they have some of the best players in the world that theoretically could be playing in a World Cup final and then a week later the league starts right back up.
“It’s going to challenge players to do things differently and adjust, and look, if anything the last couple of years has taught us is you have to be flexible and be able to adapt and adjust.”
Because of the time difference, group stage matches will kick off at 5 a.m. (Eastern time), 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Although the World Cup will be held during the NFL and college football seasons for the first time, Lalas expects large viewership in the United States.
“It will be Breakfast at Doha, like Wimbledon and the EPL,” Lalas said. “The World Cup tends to surprise people. Coming up against the juggernauts that are college football and the NFL, it will be really telling as to how far soccer has come from a viewership standpoint and how popular it is in the United States.”
Of course, the audience will be much larger if the U.S. national team qualifies — a safe assumption considering the team is in second place in CONCACAF qualifying with six games to go, ahead of Mexico and behind Canada. The top three earn berths and the fourth-place team, currently Panama, enters an inter-confederation playoff.
“We are still a growing soccer nation, and we need to bring new people into the tent because so many people taste test soccer during a World Cup and to not have a U.S. team four years ago, that was a wasted opportunity,” Lalas said.
Thus far, 13 of the 32 teams have qualified — host Qatar, defending champion France, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Argentina. Italy and Portugal did not qualify through the European group stage, so they must survive a 12-team playoff round in March. Three of the 12 advance.
Team USA has perhaps its most talented roster ever, with a perfect mix of Europe-based players and MLS players.
“This is not your parents’ U.S. team,” Lalas said. “Nowadays when the 25-man roster is announced, the level of debate, consternation and angst out there is unprecedented. I look at that as wonderful. (Coach) Gregg Berhalter has tens of thousands of coaches out there telling him what to do.”
Time will tell how the Qatar World Cup will be remembered.
“They understand people are going to be going there with a critical eye,” Lalas said. “That will be part of the story and how they respond to that is going to go a long way in how we ultimately feel when this is all said and done and that circus leaves town.”
2022 WORLD CUP
— Where: Qatar
— When: Nov. 21 – Dec. 18, 2022.
— TV: Fox Sports
— Number of teams:32
— Already qualified (13): host Qatar, defending champion France, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Argentina.
— Remaining USA qualifying matches: vs. El Salvador Jan. 27, vs. Canada Jan. 30, vs Honduras Feb. 2, vs. Mexico March 24, vs. Panama March 27, vs Costa Rica March 30.
— Other Key Dates:
Tournament Draw: April 1
Opening match: Nov. 21
Championship match: Dec. 18
