Argentina captain Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup wearing bisht was an iconic moment and a magnificent end to the historic Qatar 2022 that remained on everyone’s lips throughout the year.
The successful hosting of the first-ever World Cup in the Middle East and the Arab world will be remembered for many years to come for its mesmerising action and Qatar’s flawless organisation throughout the tournament.
Qatar 2022 capped a phenomenal year for the country which reached new milestones whether from its athletes or its organisational prowess.
The Peninsula revisits Qatar’s outstanding year in the field of sports.
Best ever FIFA World Cup edition
To say Qatar has set a new benchmark for future FIFA World Cup hosts by staging the highly successful World Cup would not be an overstatement.
From thrilling matches to flawless arrangements, Qatar lived up to expectations delivering its promise of hosting the best ever edition of the global tournament.
The Qatar World Cup produced pulsating matches from the group stage right till the final when Argentina defeated defending champions France 4-2 on penalties after a nail-biting 3-3 draw in full time, in front of almost 90,000 spectators at the iconic Lusail Stadium with billions across the globe watching La Albiceleste celebrating their third World Cup title triumph.
Qatar 2022 is the highest-scoring World Cup ever with a total of 172 goals scored, eclipsing the previous tournament record of 171 goals, achieved in the 1998 and 2014 editions.
Underdogs continued to stun favourites in the group stage as eventual champions Argentina too became victims of a shock defeat, losing to Saudi Arabia in their opening game of the tournament. Asian giants Japan brought more stunning results defeating four-time winners Germany and 2010 champions Spain while Tunisia’s win over defending champions France was also recorded as one of the major World Cup upsets.
Qatar 2022 marked the first time ever that nations from five different continents qualified for the knockout stage. Walid Regragui’s Morocco made history by becoming the first African and Arab side to reach the World Cup semi-finals. The Atlas Lions defeated Spain, 2016 Euro champions Portugal and second-ranked Belgium during their dream journey.
Al Annabi, in contrast, had a tough World Cup losing all their group matches but the team gained valuable experience on their debut in the football showpiece.
In terms of organisation, Qatar hosted an amazing World Cup what was the most compact version of the tournament in modern history.
From hosting the spectacular opening ceremony to an impressive closing show before the memorable final, the country hosted a flawless tournament with eight state-of-art stadiums operating at full capacity throughout 64 matches.
The country welcomed 1.4 million touring fans who returned with a positive picture of the Arab world despite the negative propaganda after receiving great hospitality in Qatar.
While players, coaches and officials were highly impressed with Qatar’s world-class facilities for the teams, multiple fans appearing on the social media platforms thanked Qatar for hosting them with open arms.
A vast array of entertainment activities across the country continued to amuse the visitors on the sidelines of matches. The FIFA Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park, which welcomed more than 1.8 million visitors and the Corniche Activation emerged as most popular stops for the fans. The tourist attractions provided an opportunity for fans to celebrate their shared love of football in what proved a beautiful exchange of cultures from across the globe.
While the Qatar World Cup - that also broke viewership records - was voted the ‘best World Cup this century’ in a BBC Sport survey with a whopping 78% votes, many including the FIFA President Gianni Infantino rated the historic tournament as the best edition ever.
“For me the World Cup has been a real incredible success on all fronts. The main one — bringing people together, meeting the Arab world, is very important for the future of all of us. But also when it comes to the matches. It has been the best World Cup ever,” said Infantino.
“For all the fans, whether they’ve been here in Qatar following the World Cup, following the matches, or following them from home, I think everyone around the world has really embraced this World Cup,” he added.
Olympic and World high jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim
World Cup was the pinnacle of events staged in Qatar, which continued to host major events in 2022 like Qatar TotalEnergies Open, Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, Qatar Grand Prix MotoGP, the Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab presented by Longines, the Longines Global Champions Tour, World Padel Championship, Qatar Classic and the Doha Diamond League etc.
Team Qatar stars shine
Qatar had a great year in the field too with athletes winning accolades throughout the year.
After a brilliant run in Olympics where Qatar marked a historic success winning two gold medals and a bronze medal finishing ahead of all Arab nations in 2021, Al Annabi needed special performances to maintain their domination and they lived up to expectations.
Olympic gold medalists Mutaz Barshim and Fares Ibrahim continued with their winning spree in 2022 with the high jump superstar claiming his third consecutive high jump gold at the World Championships 2022 in Eugene, Oregon in the USA. Fares claimed two gold medals and one silver medal in the men’s 2022 Asian Weightlifting Championships (Bahrain).
Fares Ibrahim
Qatar’s beach volleyball duo, Cherrif Younesse and Ahmad Tijan, who won bronze in Tokyo, clinched three titles: the 2022 West Asia Beach Volleyball Zonal Tour, 2022 King of the Court and 2022 Pro Tour Maldives Challenge.
The national handball team also had an impressive year sealing the fifth consecutive Asian Men’s Handball Championship title in Saudi Arabia.
Team Qatar’s shooters also continued to excel with Rashed Saleh Al Athba making headlines by winning a direct qualification to the 2024 Paris Olympics after claiming bronze medal in the men’s skeet event of the 2022 World Shotgun Championship held in Croatia. Masoud Saleh Al Athba, Abdulaziz Al Atteh and Rashid also grabbed gold in men’s team skeet at the 10th Asian Shooting Championship in Kazakhstan.
Abdulla Mohamed Al Tamimi
Squash star Abdullah Al Tamimi also had a fantastic year as he pulled off impressive results including a gold medal in 2022 West Asia Men’s Squash Championships in Iran. He also became the first player from Qatar to enter the top 20 in world rankings after his fine performance.
Qatar also earned impressive results in multi-sporting events winning 16 gold, 21 silver and 15 bronze medals at the third GCC Sport Games 2022 in Kuwait besides notching up four gold, three silver and five bronze medals at the fifth Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkiye.
Saleh Al Athba
Country’s youngsters displayed promising performances too with Qatar’s U-15 national team winning the 2022 West Asian Table Tennis Championship in Jordan. Likewise, the Qatari youth team secured the title of the GCC Men’s U18 Basketball Championship in Dubai while Qatar also claimed bronze medal in 2022 Arab Youth Basketball Championship in Egypt. Qatar fencing team returned with a bronze medal in from Jordan the West Asian U-20 Fencing Championship.
Beach volleyball stars Cherif Younousse (left) and Ahmed Tijan.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s multi-talented Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah kicked off the year winning his fourth Dakar Rally title. The rally ace – also champion in 2011, 2015 and 2019 – took the overall honours ahead of France’s nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, leading the race from start to finish.
Al Attiyah also claimed the drivers’ title in the inaugural FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) and the record-breaking 18th FIA Middle East Rally Championship crown.
