Pomp as first-ever Nov/Dec World Cup begins in the desert

Nigerians Mourn Eagles Absence From Football Feast 

Football’s hidden charm will, yet again manifest as a staggering five of the eight billion humans on earth will, from today, be glued to their television sets as the world’s biggest football extravaganza, the FIFA World Cup, begins in Qatar, today.

Up to December 18, that curtain would fall, not even the garment of controversy, which the tournament dubbed Qatar 2022 World Cup is robed in, will detract from the opium-like effect, that football has on its followers drawn from different nationalities, creeds, and religions, and all corners of the earth.

Al Janoub Stadium<br />

Indeed, the FIFA-organised showpiece will avail football connoisseurs, the chance not only to behold a star-studded line-up of players (831 in all) but also to appreciate the efficiency and clinical finishing of lethal goal-scoring “machines” that will be on parade.

The international football tournament, which runs from November 20 to December 18, will be played in eight stadiums, all of which are located in and around the Qatari capital city of Doha. Today’s opening ceremony and the first match of the tourney between Qatar and Ecuador will take place in Al Khor’s Al Bayt Stadium (45 minutes north of Doha), and it seats 60, 000 people.

Furthermore, the tournament will also be the last to feature 32 teams, as the field will increase to 48 teams beginning from the next edition (in 2026) to be hosted in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The intense summer heat and humidity in Qatar, the smallest host by size since the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, necessitated shifting the Mundial to the winter. It will also be played in 29 days, a couple of days short of the timeframe of recent tournaments.

Ahead of the