Qatar ready for upcoming FIFA World Cup | The Nation
In less than three weeks Qatar will host the 22nd FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Middle Eastern country to stage soccer's biggest event.
The tournament kicks off on Nov. 20 when the hosts Qatar take on Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. The final will be held on Dec. 18 at the Lusail Stadium
Thirty-two teams will be competing to dethrone holders France, who won the 2018 World Cup in Russia
This year's tournament has been rescheduled to the northern hemisphere's winter months to avoid the intense summer heat in Qatar
The host country Qatar said it is well prepared in terms of infrastructure facilities such as stadiums training ground, subway, and hotels and arrangements on transportation, security, and reception
Matches are going to be held in eight stadiums of which seven are newly built for the World Cup, and the other has been completely renovated
The closest distance between any two of the eight stadiums is only five kilometers, and the farthest 75 Under normal circumstances, the commute time between the two farthest stadiums is only about an hour
The Qatar World Cup has thus been called the most compact World Cup which makes it possible for fans to watch multiple matches on the same match day
To prepare for emergencies during the World Cup the country has installed more than 15,000 cameras around the eight stadiums and connected them to facial recognition systems
Thousands of fans are expected to stay in neighboring countries like tourism hub the United Arab Emirates And fly in to Doha for matches due to limited accommodation in Qatar
