Reflections on the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Did Qatar host the best ever World Cup?
We are now just under a week since the dramatic final of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Doha. Before the final began, I tweeted that Qatar already made a strong case for one of the best World Cups ever, but with Argentina and Messi having prevailed over France following a comeback at the end of the second half, the case got even stronger. Many commenters online suggested that, at the very least, the final of the tournament may well be the greatest World Cup final of all time.
I would go one step further and make the claim that this was the greatest tournament ever, and I think that it will be very difficult to replicate in the future, especially with subsequent tournaments expanding to 48 teams (which I’m personally happy about). From the initial upsets from Saudi Arabia, to the unexpected elimination of Germany, to the underdog run of Morocco through to the nail biting finish of the final, we got a little bit of everything at this tournament.
Firstly, on the quality of play, this tournament delivered like none before it. Ironically, this may be in part due to the tournament happening in November and December, while most players are still relatively fresh and healthy. In a typical summer tournament, most players are at the end of long seasons and many are carrying various injuries and a high level of fatigue going into the tournament. This time around, the quality of play in the group stages was outstanding even from the onset of the tournament.
In addition, this tournament also made it clear that the gap between the top European and South American nations with the rest of the world (namely Africa and Asia) is getting smaller. Saudi Arabia beat Argentina, Tunisia beat France, Japan won their group, which included Spain and Germany, allowing them to reach the round of 16 along with South Korea and Senegal.
Morocco of course also won their group and subsequently defeated Spain and Portugal on the road to becoming the first African nation to make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. For much of the Arab world, this was a welcome bright spot and a nearly magical time that united a wide community.
This unity was also on display all over Doha and particularly in the number of times one would see Palestinian flags during matches featuring Arab teams. For many in the Arab world, the entire World Cup served as a reminder of many things that bring us together and highlighted a lot of the qualities we share, whether that’s the hospitality, the good humour, or the wider support for the Palestinian struggled. To have this displayed and supported on a global stage such as the World Cup was very unique.
Speaking of unique, another element that made this World Cup special was the fact that it was primarily hosted in and around the city of Doha. For teams and players, this made it possible to have a more comfortable experience without needing to travel across large distanced and change hotels throughout a tournament. The same can also be said for the crew and broadcasters. But more importantly, the same was also true for fans.
This may go down as the only World Cup where fans could easily see two matches in a single day. While I was in Qatar, I also met a group of Argentinian fans who were going to see 17 different games. This is only possible when having the World Cup in a single city and it will be near impossible in 2026 when the tournament is held across Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Another advantage of having the tournament in a single city is that fans from all over the world were able to mix and mingle together for long periods of time. Whereas typically you may have fans from two nations in a city for a few days, during this tournament I was running into people from all over the world on a daily basis. From Japan, to Mexico, to Saudi Arabia, to Argentina, to South Korea, and not even to mention all the fans from across the Arab world. Moreover, this was an opportunity for many people from all over South Asia and Southeast Asia to easily attend the tournament.
Doha was truly a melting pot of people for the duration of the tournament. Even the Europeans who attended the tournament seemed to have a good time. Interestingly, some have accused the games of having a lack of atmosphere. Anecdotally, that was only the case when European teams were playing and it was either because their fans decided not to go, or perhaps because they are unable to create a fun atmosphere without alcohol.
One would be hard pressed to say the matches didn’t have a good atmosphere if they had been present when Morocco, Mexico, or Argentina were playing. Having also attended the match between South Korea and Ghana, I can attest to the awesome atmosphere at the games. In particular, the lack of alcohol also made this a much more inclusive and accepting tournament. There were reports of female fans feeling safer at the World Cup thanks to reduced alcohol consumption for example.
Beyond that, the logistics surrounding the tournament were top notch. Having flown Qatar Airways, I understand why they are so highly rated and I also had the best airport experience of my life, with the smoothest security and customs process I’ve experienced.
Unfortunately, many people won’t hear about all this good news. Why is that? David Walsh made it clear in The Times, “good stories about the World Cup weren’t wanted”. But if you’ve read this far, hopefully you’ve gotten a small peak into why this World Cup was amazing, and hopefully you’re able to have an open mind about Qatar in the future.
What I’m listening to 🎧
IDLES — Just came across this British rock band and now I’m hooked. They have a very punk energy while also coming across as very caring and loving. In particular it’s worth checking out their NPR Tiny Desk.
Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork — Possibly my favourite band of the past couple of years and I’ve been hooked on their latest album.
Arhbo featuring Ozuna & GIMS — The official song of the 2022 World Cup. Some complain that they haven’t heard it but I think it’s a banger, in particular the Arabic version.
Finally, I have a couple of playlists that I will always point out:
My every growing Ecletic Elephant playlist, which a diverse range of music which I enjoy and I often have this playlist on shuffle if I can’t decide what to listen to.
My much more slowly growing Egypt Mother of the World playlist, where I try to find more underground music that I enjoy featuring Egyptian artists.
What I’m watching 📺
Just wrapped up Severance on AppleTV. Very intriguing psychological thriller with some sci-fi elements.