Looking Ahead
As we enter a FIFA World Cup year, the tournament in Qatar will be the major event of 2022 – but there is plenty more to look forward to in the months leading up to it.
In 2021, as the world slowly returned to some kind of normality after the COVID-19 pandemic had led to numerous events, competitions and gatherings being cancelled or postponed in 2020, six FIFA tournaments were able to take place.
The next 12 months promise to be just as exciting, with three FIFA World Cup events all taking place in the second half of 2022.
Here is a taste of what we can look forward to in 2022:
March: 72ⁿᵈ FIFA Congress
The FIFA Council confirmed in October 2021 that the 72ⁿᵈ FIFA Congress would be held on Thursday, 31 March 2022, in Doha, Qatar, in conjunction with the Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
April: Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™
The draw for the group stage of the tournament will take place in Doha on 1 April 2022. At that point, 30 out of the 32 participants will be known, with the remaining two being determined through the intercontinental play-offs taking place in June, having been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
May: Draw for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2022™
The Official Draw will take place in San José, Costa Rica, on 5 May. A total of 32 matches involving 16 women’s national youth teams from around the world will be played in two host cities – San José and Alajuela.
August: FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2022™
After the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2014, Costa Rica is hosting a major women’s event once again, this time the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2022. The tournament – which will take place from 10 to 28 August – was originally planned for 2020, but this was also postponed due to the pandemic.
October: FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022™
After successfully hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017™, India is looking forward to staging its second World Cup in 2022, when the hosts will be joined by Japan and Korea DPR as the Asian representatives.
The tournament was originally planned for 2020 but had to be postponed because of the pandemic. Along with the hosts, the European representatives (Spain, Germany and England) have already booked their spots, as well as New Zealand (OFC) and the above two Asian qualifiers. Qualifying in the other confederations will be taking place in the coming months. The tournament kicks off on 11 October and concludes on 30 October.
November – December: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™
The opening match will kick off in November at the stunning Al Bayt Stadium, and the tournament will naturally feature the best football talent from around the world. It is set to be a unique event, giving fans the opportunity to discover the culture of Qatar.
The competition – the first time a FIFA World Cup has taken place in the Arab world – will take place across eight stadiums, all state of the art and within easy reach of one another, meaning it will be easily possible for fans to attend more than one game in a single day. The tournament begins on Monday 21 November and ends on Sunday 18 December, Qatar National Day, at Lusail Stadium.