DOHA: Just less than eight months away from hosting the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza — the FIFA World Cup — Qatar will set the ball rolling on Thursday when it hosts the 72nd FIFA Congress at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.
This is the second time that Qatar will be hosting the FIFA Congress after 2003, and also the first Arab nation to host this mega event.
On Friday, the Qatari capital will host the Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at 7:00 pm local time.
As the days are approaching for the mega event, things are getting bigger and sharper.
The quadrennial event will start in November 21 with the final taking place on Qatar National Day on December 18 at the Lusail Stadium.
“The culture and the compactness will make this World Cup a unique one,” said Raquel, a Brazilian super fan at the international media dinner at Katara.
The World Cup preparations got underway since Qatar won the bidding rights in 2010 December. Now the gas and oil-rich state is preparing to deliver one of the most unique World Cups.
The Congress was preceded by FIFA Council meeting on Wednesday evening.
The Congress agenda include adoption of the agenda, the adoption of the minutes of the 71st FIFA Congress that was held on May 21, 2021 online.
Besides, discussion of the annual report and many financial reports and activities in 2021 and voting on them, in addition to voting on proposals to amend the Statutes and Regulations Governing the Application of the Statues of the Congress and discussing proposals submitted by Member Associations and the Council during the period provided for in Article 28 of the FIFA Statutes.
As regards to the World Cup qualifications, 29 teams have made it to the final round in Qatar while three teams will have to qualify crucial continental matches (Asia – South America /CONCACAF – Oceania), in addition to the team that will qualify from the European play-off to participate in the World Cup 2022.
Qatar will host the crucial match between the representative of the Asian continent and the fifth-ranked team in the South American qualifiers to reserve the qualification for the World Cup on June 13 and 14.
Besides, the play-off between the fourth-placed in the Confederation of North, Central America, and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) qualifiers and the qualifying team from the Oceania Confederation to win a seat in the upcoming World Cup, according to the draw held on Nov. 26, 2021.
The last team to join the World Cup will be determined with the end of the European qualifiers for the World Cup between May and June 2022, as stated in the decision of the FIFA Organizing Committee Bureau on March 8, 2022.
