FIFA World Cup kicks off today

Football fans are geared up to witness a historic event as the FIFA World Cup will kick off in Qatar on Sunday. 32 teams will participate in the event and the mood in Doha, the capital of Qatar is purely football. 

The hosts Qatar will take on Ecuador in the tournament opener. People will witness the winter World Cup for the first time since the tournament began.

The tournament opener will be held at Al-Bayt Stadium. It is the second largest stadium built for this mega event. Approximately 60,000 spectators will enjoy the opening ceremony.

The 32 teams were divided into eight groups, with four teams in each group and The mega event will start with the group stage. The last group stage match will be held on December 3.

Two teams from each group will move on to the next round which is the knockout stage. This stage is known as Round of 16. The rest of the tournament will continue with the knockout system.

Budgeted at 300 billion dollars, the 29-day event with 32 participating countries is supposed to be the most expensive in the World Cup’s 92-year old history.

The event has a few of firsts. This is the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup that the event is being held in winter. Another first is the moveable stadium – Stadium 974 that has been built from shipping containers and can be transported from one place to another.

Lusail stadium which is the largest one will host most matches. The final of the global event will be played in this stadium.

The other stadiums are Al-Bait, Al-Janoub, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Khalifa International, the Education City, Al-Thumama and Stadium 974. The World Cup will conclude on December 18.