After a four and half month wait, club football is finally on its compulsory pause as all attention shifts to the 2022 World Cup.
This tournament is going to be one like no other, thanks to the mountains of innovation and financial resources pumped into the 29-day tournament.
Here are five quick things that should be expected at the global event.
Ground-Breaking Technological Innovation
It’s already common knowledge that this is the first World Cup to be held in the winter as opposed to the traditional summer. Qatar’s summer temperatures, which can reach up to 50°C, makes it almost impossible for the tournament to be held in such sweltering conditions.
To this effect, Qatar took up the initiative of installing all stadiums with cooling systems that will make for a much more pleasurable and comfortable watch for fans from all over the world. Of course the players too stand to benefit, as these systems also help to prevent them from dehydrating very quickly, which can have negative consequences on their performance on the pitch.
The groundbreaking technology operates using chilled water from an energy centre, which is transported through a pipeline to the match venues and will push cool air into stands and the pitch. Whilst Qatar’s weather this time of year rests around the 30°C mark, it is expected the temperature inside the stadiums will be between 20°C – 23°C, which is at par with the summer climates of Europe and other warmer places.
Quite extraordinarily, the cooling systems were designed and constructed by Qatar University, starting from 2015, with all resources deriving from the country as well. For an emerging economy, it is commendable that Qatar operated domestically, rather than outsourcing from foreign nations, which would be more expensive. Qatar has however been able to save thousands in costs and, moreover, are setting a precedent for other countries in desert and hotter climates, who can implement this design for sporting events in their own regions.
Apart from the advanced cooling system, the match ball of this World Cup- ‘Al Rihla’, is another innovative product. The ball features a technology that will relay data in quick time to Video Assistant Referees. It will work hand in hand with the semi-automated offside technology to ensure accurate and quicker decisions are made for the sake of fairness.
What is a truly first of its kind World Cup, Qatar have also accounted for fans with disabilities, specifically the visually-impared, who will be able to experience all the fun of the World Cup thanks to Bonocle – a digital product developed by Qataris that will convert content from the tournament into braille. This means they can move around Qatar with fewer restrictions and will constantly be in tune with the tournament schedule. Furthermore, there are also sensory rooms installed for people living with autism in all the stadiums.
An Environmentally Sustainable Tournament
At the heart of the 2022 World Cup is the drive to sustain the environment in a bid to reduce the effects of Climate Change.
In the past, preparations towards big events like the World Cup led to a lot of carbon emissions. However, with the realization that our global climate is changing irreversibly, sustainable initiatives need to be taken. Qatar has taken that lead once again in its resolve to show the world it is capable of hosting a World Cup with a difference.
One of such measures taken to curb carbon emissions is by having the eight venues hosting games in close proximity to each other. Indeed, all venues are within 75km of one another. That is about an hour’s journey around all the venues, which, of course, saves on transport emissions but also means fans and players aren’t burdened with having to travel long distances for their games. Conveniently, a number of venues are even within a walking distance of one another. Better still, electric vehicles will be utlised during the tournament, reducing carbon emissions by a great deal.
An 800 Megawatts solar plant will be used to power the World Cup. It is from here power needed to cool the stadiums will be generated from. This will keep energy consumption very clean and at sustainable levels.
The biggest effort towards sustainability at the 2022 World Cup has to be the 974 Stadium, a venue that was built using 974 shipping containers and other recycled materials. This makes it dismountable and can be used for other eco-friendly projects and initiatives in the future after the tournament.
High Level of Unpredictability
With Qatar 2022 being the first World Cup to be held during the winter, it brings a high level of uncertainty when it comes to match outcomes. There has been very little time to prepare, forcing players to get into the rhythm and intensity of the World Cup instantly – otherwise they will be in for surprises, especially from underdogs. Indeed, the only opportunity to prepare came during the September international window, with October being dedicated to club football. Only a few warm up games have been played this week and then its show time at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday evening.
The rapid turnaround between the mid-season break and the commencement of the World Cup has unsurprisingly come at a heavy cost, with a lengthy list of injuries to some key players adding further strain to the tournament. The likes of Sadio Mane (Senegal), Reece James (England), Paul Pogba (France), Timo Werner (Germany), Gini Wijnaldum (Netherlands) and Diogo Jota (Portugal) will be missing in Qatar. Similarly, the likes of Alphonso Davies (Canada), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia), Son Heung-Min (South Korea) and Ronald Araujo (Uruguay) are racing to be fit ahead of the group stage fixtures.
It’s definitely going to be a World Cup like no other. Perhaps this will be a chance for more underdogs to make history while a couple of favourites are left devastated.
Cultural Diversity at its Finest
The World Cup coming to the Middle East is a huge milestone as it is a region that is often misinterpreted.
Over the last two decades, the Middle East has been a hotbed for terrorism that has spread across the world. Sectarian violence has been rife, making the region an unfavourable place to visit. However, governments from this part of the world are determined to reinvent their images, and hosting a big event such a World Cup only shows success so far, and their commitment to do better.
The World Cup presents an opportunity for the Arab culture to be seen in all its glory and beauty. Arabs have a rich history that has had impact in different spheres of societal development and what better place to appreciate all that than in Qatar.
Not only will it be a celebration of Arab culture, but Qatar is expected to host more than two million visitors from more than 32 unique cultures from the six habitable continents of the world. If anything, the World Cup is that time to bring the globe together, putting aside differences for the love of the game.
The Small Miracle
The 2022 World Cup will probably go down as one of the most unique competitions in international sporting history.
In times past, the mundial has been held in countries that have huge populations and often are geographically large in land mass as well. Qatar, however, is the smallest country to host the World Cup. With a population of 2.7 million people and a landmass of 11,571 km², it is a small nation casting a huge shadow with all the projects undertaken. The ground-breaking technology and other innovations make it a lip-smacking estimated sum of $220 billion that has gone into competition, making it the most expensive to host. That’s almost 15 times more than the next most expensive iteration of the event, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil at $15 billion.
That’s a case of Qatar being small but mighty. All that is left now upon kickoff is for the tournament to conclude in grand style in Lusail on December 18.
