The Student Guide To The FIFA World Cup 2022 - When, Where, How to Watch
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It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming, football’s coming home!
One of the most anticipated sporting events in the world, The FIFA World Cup 2022, is quickly approaching.
With 5 billion viewers from across the globe expected to tune in to watch.
Whether you’re a football fan or not, we’ve covered all that you need to know about the tournament.
You can find out when and where it’s taking place, the different teams competing as well as how to watch.
Don’t stop there…
When Is The FIFA World Cup 2022
The Men’s FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious football tournament in the world, taking place every four years.
32 national teams will compete in 8 groups of 4 within the tournament, although this is changing for 2026.
The 22nd addition of the tournament is now days away, with the kick off taking place on Sunday 20th November.
This Sunday will be the opening ceremony and the first tournament of Qatar vs Ecuador.
From then, there will be 64 matches played over 29 days with the final on Sunday 18th December.
The date of the tournament final is also Qatar’s National Day.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 Group Draw
The FIFA World Cup 2022 will begin with 32 teams in eight groups of four.
To be in with a chance of making it to the final and lifting the World Cup, all teams will have to make it through the group stage matches.
The UK nations, England and Wales, are in Group B for the first phase of the tournament.
You can find out about the different groups below:
- Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
- Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales
- Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
- Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
- Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
- Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
- Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
- Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Where Is It Taking Place
For the first time in its 92-year history since it first began in 1930, the competition will be taking place in a Middle Eastern country.
This year’s tournament is set to be in a completely new and different setting than ever before, with the host nation for 2022 being Qatar.
The country won the World Cup bid way back in 2010 with the FIFA President at the time, Sepp Blatter, announcing the hosts.
The football competition is set to make history for another reason too.
It’s the first to take place from late November until mid-December, because of Qatar’s intense summer heat and humidity.
So, the football competition will take place during the end of the Northern Hemisphere’s Autumn and into the Winter rather than the summer months.
As we saw with the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the competition took place during our summer in June and July.
This year, we’ll be bringing in the start of the holiday season with a bang!
Where exactly will the tournaments be taking place?
Well, the 64 games will be played at 8 newly-built stadiums across Qatar.
The stadiums are Lusail Iconic Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Stadium 974, Al Thumama Stadium, Education City Stadium and Al Wakrah Sports Complex.
Six of the eight stadiums are located within the capital city of Doha.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Schedule
If you’re preparing for the FIFA World Cup and are keen to get to grips with the tournament schedule, you’re in luck.
We’re here to provide the low down on the games taking place, with a summarised list of dates below.
- 20th November 2022 – Opening Ceremony, Group A opener (Qatar v Ecuador)
- 2nd December 2022 – Final round of group games
- 3rd-6th December – Round of 16
- 9th-10th December – Quarterfinals
- 13th -14th December – Semi-finals
- 17th December – Third-Place Match
- 18th December – Final
For a full schedule on exact game timings, you can head over to the match centre on the FIFA official website.
How You Can Watch
For fans in the UK wanting to join in on the football extravaganza, you can watch the FIFA World Cup for free on either BBC Sport or ITV.
Both networks will have provide high-quality viewing of 32 matches each whilst they will both share live coverage of the FIFA World Cup Final.
Although, there is a time difference of 3 hours between Qatar and the UK.
Don’t worry though, the times of the matches are 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 7:00 PM UK time.
So, this means you won’t have to stay up till the early hours to join in on the action – woo!
You can find out about how to watch each match within the UK, or any other country, on the FIFA official website.
How To Get Tickets
Watching the FIFA World Cup from your home or the local boozer isn’t the only way you can witness football history.
You can still get tickets to the tournament – whaaaat?!
Tickets for the football competition are still available during the ‘Last Minute Sales Phase’.
Which is taking place all the way up until the end of the competition on December 18th.
Tickets are limited so you should check the FIFA website on a regular basis as more tickets and re-sale tickets are released.
If you’re looking to buy tickets to see England or Wales (or any other team) play in the World Cup, you can purchase a maximum of six tickets per match and 60 across the entire tournament.
All tickets purchased will be available for download on the app and will grant access inside on the day of the match.
Tickets are available on a first come first serve basis on the official FIFA website.
There are some other things to remember if you want to grab a last-minute ticket, find out below.
What You’ll Need To Apply For Tickets
If you’re looking to attend the Qatar World Cup, you will need to apply for tickets as an international fan.
There are different ticketing options and categories available for Internationals and Qatar residents.
You will need a valid passport number to apply for tickets and a FIFA account too.
Plus, to enter Qatar you will must apply for a Hayya Card.
This is a form of Fan ID, that you’ll need during the tournament period.
Regardless of whether you’re going to the World Cup or not, you’ll still need to register for this form of identification.
If you’re heading to Qatar, we hope you have an amazing time at the world’s biggest football tournament!
There we have it everyone, the end of our student guide on the 2022 World Cup.
We hope this guide has been helpful for you, no matter if you’re a football fanatic or not.
Why not get together with your friends in your student accommodation to watch the World Cup?
Or head to your local pub to watch the games and join in on the buzzing atmosphere.
Which team do you think will lift the FIFA World Cup 2022? Let us know what team you’ll be cheering for @prestigestudentliving.
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