Words by Imala

Its nearly the time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to begin. The World Cup is the most prominent and widespread sport that comes once in every 4 years where the best national teams compete against each other to win the title of the world champion. The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930 with a total of 13 teams participating that year. Since then, the tournament has expanded massively with 32 teams qualifying each year. The only years the world cup had not been held was 1942 and 1946 due to World War 2. 

For the year 2022, which is the 22nd Edition of the FIFA World Cup, the tournament is being hosted at Qatar which would be the first time it is held in an Arab Region after winning the bid in 2010. The matches will be held in eight stadiums all over the country which will be equipped with central air conditioning system to battle the heat and extreme temperature. The tournament will begin on Nov 20th, a day that the whole world is anxiously looking forward to. Matches will be player till 18th Dec when the final match would be played and a new world champion would be declared. 

The last World Cup held in Russia 2018 was spectacular with France taking the World Championship. They have claimed the title for the second time after 10 years where they had won for the first time in 1998.  So far, the country that has won the World Cup multiple times is Brazil. Hence, the anticipation is high whether they would take the title for a sixth year. Furthermore, for 7 times, the Golden Ball Winner has also come from Brazil with none other than the incredible Ronaldo taking the title in 1998. As for the top scorer at the FIFA World Cup, the title is sustained by Miroslav Klose with 16 goals in 24 appearances across four separate tournaments whilst Ronaldo had scored 15 goals in 19 appearances in three tournaments and Gerd Muller scoring 14 goals in just two tournaments. 

Two of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would be competing with their respective teams in this year’s World Cup for the fifth time. Only time will tell how this World Cup works in their favor as they are yet to win a World Cup. Argentina was drawn in Group C, whereas Portugal was drawn in Group H meaning that both teams are on opposite side of the bracket and would not clash unless they both win their respective groups. Undoubtedly, these two football icons have a large fanbase in Maldives where the tension would be high if these two icons are met on the field.

Moreover, our tiny nation of Maldives has always been preparing well to welcome the World Cup to our screens. Wouldn’t be a lie to say that the majority of the Maldivians favorite sport is football. Each individual who you meet and ask their favorite team, be it young or old, they would respond their favorites without hesitation. So, it’s safe to say that Maldivians are die hard fans of football. Every corner you turn to, you would see the arrangements like big screens, team flag decorations done all over the country. The World Cup is an euphoric time for family and friends to come together with excitement wearing their favorite team’s jerseys, having snacks and drinks whilst watching their favorite teams play.

Now the question remains on which team would take the 2022 FIFA World Cup Championship trophy. For that we would have to wait and watch to see on the final match day.