Doha, 1 June 2023 - A delegation from Qatar shared key lessons learned from the successful staging of the FIFA World Cup™ with the 2026 host nations.
Senior executives from the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC (Q22) and FIFA attended a knowledge transfer event in Miami with counterparts from the US, Canada and Mexico to outline tournament preparations and delivery.
In November and December last year, Qatar hosted the most compact edition of the FIFA World Cup™ in modern history. All eight stadiums were within an hour’s drive of central Doha, with fans having the chance to attend more than one match per day during the early stages of the tournament. The average attendance topped 53,000, with Qatar hosting more than 1.4 million fans during the 29-day event. Argentina won the tournament after arguably the greatest final in history, with Lionel Messi lifting the trophy at Lusail Stadium after a thrilling penalty shoot-out victory over France in front of 88,966 fans.
A host of important subjects were covered during the opening day of the workshop, including key learnings, pitch management, overlay, infrastructure, accommodation, transportation, logistics, guest management, workforce and volunteers, arrivals and departures, and team facilities. On day two, delegates discussed the last mile operation near stadiums, dressing and signage, the FIFA Fan Festival™, IT solutions, safety and security, ticketing and hospitality, media and broadcast operations, and workers’ welfare.
Eng. Yasir Al Jamal, Director General, SC, said: “It was a pleasure to share important lessons learned from Qatar 2022 with our counterparts in the US, Canada and Mexico ahead of 2026.
“We are very proud to have hosted an incredibly successful tournament, which was the first edition in the Middle East and Arab world. Our colleagues were particularly keen to hear about the fan experience, volunteering, transportation and media and broadcast operations – areas we excelled in during Qatar 2022.”
Al Jamal added: “We would like to thank the United 2026 organisers and FIFA for organising this event and wish them the very best of luck in hosting yet another memorable edition of the FIFA World Cup in just over three years’ time.”
Nasser Al Khater, CEO, Q22, said: “The dust has only just settled on what was a remarkable tournament for football fans in Qatar, the Arab world and globally. There were many key learnings from the tournament during the 12 years of build-up and we were happy to share our experiences with the next host nations, who between them will deliver the first 48-team FIFA World Cup in history. We look forward to following their progress over the next few years and attending what is sure to be an exciting edition of the tournament.”
The FIFA World Cup 2026™ will be held in 16 host cities across the US, Canada and Mexico, starting in June with the final taking place on 19 July.