Such is the preparation for FIFA World Cup, that begins today in Qatar
Qatar has announced that all preparations for the World Cup have been completed.
KATHMANDU: Today marks the official start of the 22nd World Cup football tournament. The inauguration will take place in Qatar at 7:45 p.m. Nepali time.
At 9:45 p.m., the host Qatar will face Ecuador in the World Cup opener. FIFA is preparing to begin the grand ceremony before that. Qatar has announced that all preparations for the World Cup have been completed.
Countries competing in the World Cup have arrived in Qatar. For the second time in Asia, Qatar will host the World Cup. Previously, Japan and South Korea hosted the Asian World Cup.
At the opening ceremony, memorable World Cup moments will be shown. Whenever you see a glimpse of Brazilian Ronaldo and Maradona’s matches. However, unlike previous World Cups, Pele and Maradona will not be present.
Maradona is no longer alive. Pele was unable to travel to Qatar due to health issues. In 1958, Pele led Brazil to its first World Cup victory. His video message will be shown during the opening ceremonies. Maradona passed away in 2020.
There will also be cultural performances at the opening of the World Cup. Artists from different countries will perform at the opening. From Korean bands, Colombian singer Shakira has also reached Qatar. Jay Balvin, Nigerian singer and songwriter Patrick Okari, American singer Lil Baby and others will perform. There will also be a separate performance by local artists. Baby sang the 2022 World Cup song ‘The World is Yours to Take.’
For the first time in the winter months
The World Cup football is being held for the first time in the month of November/December. The World Cup, which was previously scheduled for June-July, has been rescheduled due to weather conditions in Qatar.
Qatar was chosen to host the World Cup 12 years ago. Previously, the World Cup was held only after the leagues had concluded. However, the leagues are still not finished. For the World Cup, all major leagues around the world have been suspended. The league will resume after the World Cup concludes.
Opening match at Al Beit Stadium
The first game (opening match) will take place at Al Bait Stadium in Al Khor City. This stadium has a seating capacity of 60,000 people. Qatar and the UAE also played a friendly match in this stadium a year ago. There were 63,000 spectators here at the time.
Qatar built this stadium for the World Cup. The stadium is scheduled to open in November 2021. This stadium will host nine World Cup matches. Six group stage matches, one round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final matches are also planned for this venue.
The remaining group stage matches will begin on Monday afternoon. Qatar is in Group A with the Netherlands, Senegal, and Ecuador.
