Excessiveness, controversy, records and twists and turns: the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is unlike any other. Discover all the most shocking or unusual data on this 22nd FIFA World Cup!
The World Cup started on November 20, 2022, and will take place in Qatar until December 18, 2022. Blues won their first game 4-1 against Australia, and seem well on their way to becoming one of the best teams in the tournament.
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The FIFA World Cup is the most popular sporting event in the world, and 95% of fan sports follow this competition closely. As usual, billions of spectators from over 200 nations will watch the games closely to find out which country is the best at football.
However, this World Cup is different from the previous 21. Discover any shocking or unusual data that make this Qatar 2022 event as controversial as it is extraordinary…
Dollars per billion for a CoM in Qatar
$229 billion : is the amount spent by Qatar to host the World Cup. This cost includes the construction of seven brand new stadiums, a metro line to connect them, an airport, hospitals, hotels and shopping malls. In comparison, Russia only spent 11.6 billion for the 2018 World Cup.
$17 billion : it is the benefit that Qatar should receive thanks to the event. FIFA meanwhile is expected to generate $7 billion in revenue.
8 : the number of stadiums hosting this World Cup in Qatar, 7 of which were built especially for the event. More than 6 billion euros have been invested in stadiums alone. The 200,000 seats will be removed at the end of the tournament and offered to developing countries, and Stadium 974, made up of transport containers, will be completely disassembled.
????????️ Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar. ????????
The 40,000 seater stadium is made of shipping containers. The aim is for the stadium to be dismantled and reassembled in a new location after the tournament. pic.twitter.com/CVBLOMreoC
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 4, 2022
100 : the number of hotels built by Qatar for the World Cup. New roads have also been built, and an entire town has been built around the Lusail stadium where the final will take place.
3,6 millions : the number of tons of CO2 issued during this World Cup. By comparison, it was 2.1 million tonnes at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The world’s biggest event in a tiny country
3 millions : it’s the number of tickets sold for the World Cup. The 10 countries that bought the most tickets are Qatar, the United States, Saudi Arabia, England, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, France, Brazil and Germany.
1,2 million : it’s the number of visitors expected by Qatar throughout the tournament. The country expects 1300 daily flights during the World Cup. Fortunately, the Ministry of Health has announced that negative COVID tests will no longer be required to enter the country.
2,8 millions : it is the total population of Qatar. It is therefore the smallest country to have ever hosted the FIFA World Cup. It is also the second time the World Cup has been held in Asia, after Japan and South Korea in 2002.
11.57 billion : qatar size in square meters. In comparison, France is 551,695 km2.
30 000 : it is the total number of hotel rooms that Qatar had in March 2022. The emirate planned to expand its capacity to 130,000 before the start of the tournament, including 9,000 beds in fan villages, 60,000 apartment rooms, 50,000 hotel rooms and 4000 rooms on the two cruise ships.
160 : The staggering number of flights organized daily by Qatar from neighboring countries, such as Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. For good reason, visitors who have not found accommodation locally will have to stay in these countries and fly to see each match…
29 days : this World Cup is the shortest since that of Argentina in 1978. This is the reason why four pool matches take place every day at 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. There is also no break between group matches and playoffs.
28 degrees : the average temperature of Qatar in the month of November. It is not until December that it falls to 23 degrees. If the tournament had been held in July, as usual, the average temperature would have been 41 degrees. Suffice to say that the players would have sweated…
14€ : the price of half a pint of beer at the Qatar World Cup, an absolute record. The sale of alcohol is usually prohibited in this country, except in a few hotels and restaurants with a special license. For the occasion, only a few stands in the fan zones and around the stadiums can sell beers at an exorbitant price. Drinking in a public place outside these areas can result in a six month prison sentence and a fine of over €500.
6500 : the number of workers who died on the sites of the World Cup in Qatar, according to The Guardian. They would be migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh or Sir Lanka. A particularly disastrous statistic, which calls into question the choice of this country as host of the event…
The clash of continents
209 : it is the number of member countries of FIFA
32 : the number of countries in the running for the 2022 World Cup. In 2026, the tournament will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada and will expand to 48 countries for a record total of 80 matches.
13 : the number of European nations participating in the World Cup: Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Wales. That’s more than any other continent. On the other hand, Russia, which hosted the event in 2018, was banned following the invasion of Ukraine. And for the second consecutive World Cup, Italy failed to qualify despite winning the tournament four times and winning Euro 2020.
1260 millions € : it is the total value of the England team : the most expensive of the tournament. The French team comes just behind, at 1080 million euros. The most expensive player in the World Cup is our national Kylian Mbappe, at 160 million euros. Europe alone accounts for two-thirds of the total value of the competing teams.
8 : alone eight countries won the World Cup: Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, France, Uruguay, Spain and England. Mexico have qualified for 16 World Cups, but never won.
5 : the number of World Cups won by Brazil. That’s more than any other nation, and Brazil is also the only country to have participated in every edition since the start. This country also holds the record of 11 qualifications in the semi-finals. Just behind, we find Italy and Germany with 4 trophies each.
17 : number of Bayern Munich players in this World Cup, divided between eight teams. No other club has ever had so many players competing in this great tournament. By comparison, Manchester United had 16 players in 2018 like South Korea’s Seoul Army Club in 1954.
31 : it was the number of Argentina’s unbeaten matches… before their first pool match at this World Cup. Legendary Lionel Messi’s national team lost 1-2 against Saudi Arabia, coached by Frenchman Hervé Renard.
20 : this is the total number of players who have won 2 World Cups. If the French team manages to defend its title, the Blues will join this very closed club.
13 : number of goals scored by French player Just Fontaine during the 1958 World Cup. Will this record be broken this year? The player with the most goals in the World Cup is the German Miroslav Klose, with 16 goals between 2002 and 2014.
44 millions $ : this is the amount that will receive the team that will win the World Cup.
Under the eyes of the whole world
5 billion : number of spectators estimated by FIFA for this World Cup. By comparison, the 2018 World Cup was watched by 3.5 million viewers worldwide. It is the most watched and followed sporting event worldwide.
$1 billion : it’s here amount paid by Fox Sports and Telemundo to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. Fox paid around $425 million, and Telemundo $600 million. This contract also includes the Women’s World Cup in 2019 and 2023, and other global FIFA tournaments. We do not know the amount spent on broadcasting rights in France, but TF1 had paid 130 million euros in 2014.