From the moment its bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup was launched, it was known that Qatar offered a refreshing opportunity for this tournament: to innovate, to offer novelty, to renew itself with stories told from new angles, and to offer a new way of life.
And so it will be. Every moment confirms that Qatar 2022 will not be a conventional edition of this tournament, due to circumstances of all kinds, from geographical, cultural and climatic, to statistical and sporting. Fans will have plenty of reasons to be surprised at this soccer festival.
So, with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 getting closer and closer to kicking off, the news that this tournament will offer continues to emerge. In the following paragraphs of this story you will discover the reasons that make this edition one full of new and fresh beginnings for the world of soccer and its millions of fans.
The new features of Qatar 2022 that were already known
The mere fact that the FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar is already a novelty. Never before in history has this tournament been organized outside South America, Europe, North America, Central Asia or Africa: the Middle East is being given this golden opportunity to put itself in the eyes of the world.
The next new feature of the upcoming FIFA World Cup is that, for the first time in its 92-year history and 21 editions held to date, the tournament will not be played in May, June or July, but in November and December. The reason is due to climatic reasons: the temperature in Qatar during the middle of the year is so high that playing soccer is risky.
Also, Qatar 2022 will be the FIFA World Cup in which geographical barriers will be the thinnest and most surmountable. Never before in the history of this tournament have the venues where the matches will be held been so close to each other. This will even allow fans to attend two matches on the same day.
FIFA’s newly approved innovations to be launched at Qatar 2022
At the most recent FIFA Annual General Assembly in Doha, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved a number of changes to the Laws of the Game that will come into effect for the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup. Once again, Qatar 2022 is a source of novelty.
National Team Squads of 26 teams. That’s right, for the first time in history, since the FIFA World Cup was established in 1930, the rosters of the participants will be made up of 26 players. From the first edition to USA 1994, 22 players were allowed to be called up. Then, as of France 1998, the number of players was increased to 23.
As a consequence of the 26-player squads, in Qatar 2022 the number of substitutes on the bench of the 32 National Teams competing for soccer glory will increase from 12 to 15. It was specified that no substitutes will be required to go to the stands, as is usually the case in the vast majority of tournaments, where only a certain number of substitutes are allowed on the bench.
Five substitutions per team per game. Once again, for the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, it will be possible for the same National Team to make up to 5 substitutions during the match. This initiative came into effect after the return to professional soccer activity following the forced stoppage in the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and was introduced to avoid excessive wear and tear on the players.
Restrictions for goalkeepers when facing a penalty kick. The previous rule stated that goalkeepers could stand anywhere in front of the goal as long as at least one of their feet was on the goal line. In the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, goalkeepers will have to keep both feet on the line before a penalty is kicked.