Qatar now claim that they are the most successful organizers of the FIFA World Cup event when the Middle Eastern country and Arab world reached a magnificent conclusion on Sunday, 18 December.
The month-long event ended with a magnificent opening ceremony before the final match between Argentina and the reigning champion France. Argentina lifting the trophy after a dramatic nail-biting penalty kick at Lusail Stadium, Doha.
Qatar hosted the most compact edition of the FIFA World Cup in modern history, with fans revelling in the opportunity to attend more than one match a day during the early stages of the tournament.
During the 29 days, Qatar welcomed more than 1.4 million fans to the country.
Qatar welcomed more than 1.4 million (according to local organisers report) fans from across the globe for the FIFA World Cup 2022.12.19
The tournament organizers announced that cumulative attendance is set to reach 3.4 million, meaning an average attendance of 53,000 fans per match and overall capacity in excess of 96 percent. Might be it’s a record of FIFA World Cup football that such a huge number of visitors visited a country focused on the tournament.
Fans in Qatar have revelled in the compact nature of the event with many thousands attending more than one match per day – the first time this has been possible in the modern history of the tournament.
All eight of Qatar’s state-of-the-art stadiums are located within an hour’s journey time of central Doha and easily accessible by metro, bus and taxi services, that make comfort and easier for the thousands of spectators movements.
Between matches, fans were enthusiastic to attend a host of entertainment events, including the FIFA Fan Festival, Corniche Activation and many others when more than 530,000 people attended the entertainment events daily throughout the tournament.
In front of a capacity crowd of 88, 966 of bowl shaped Luasial Iconic Stadium in the state-of-the-art Metropolis of Lusail, Argentina and France geared up for the final on Sunday when the La Albiceleste, won 4-2 on penalties after a mesmerising match ended 3-3 after extra-time.
Thousands of spectators were inside the stadium premises, where there was a sea of people clad in the sky-blue and white of Argentina, the home that the team wore in the final, singing and dancing with saying ‘Vamos Argentian, Vamos Messi’ all along their way to the galleries.
However, it was almost a common script of stadium premises as well the different fan zone in the city where the match telecast live during all big matches.
Ahead of Sunday’s final, a stunning closing ceremony was held featuring a raft of stars, including Dana, Davido, Aisha, Manal, Balqees, Rahma, RedOne, Ozuma, Gims and Nora. A host of songs from the tournament’s Official Soundtrack were performed while 32 flying orbs paid tribute to each participating nation.
Since the tournament got underway at Al Bayt Stadium on 20 November to the 64th match (final) more than 3.4 million tickets were sold for the matches, which were held at eight state-of-the-art stadiums, all located within an hour’s journey time of central Doha.
While fans enjoyed exciting football on the pitch, Qatar hosted a vast number of entertainment activations across the country, including the FIFA Fan Festival™ at Al Bidda Park, which welcomed more than 1.8 million visitors, and the Corniche Activation. The tourist attractions all provided an opportunity for fans to celebrate their shared love of football in what proved a beautiful exchange of cultures from across the globe.
