11 Facts About 2022 FIFA World Cup

Italy are the fourth team to have failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup having won the previous UEFA European Championship, after Czechoslovakia in 1978, Denmark in 1994 and Greece in 2006.

On 19 May 2022, FIFA announced the list of 36 referees, and 69 assistant referees and 24 video assistant referees for the tournament.

Although, by April 2017, 2022 FIFA World Cup had yet to finalise the number of stadiums Qatar must have readied in five years' time, Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy said it expected there would be eight in and near Doha.

In January 2019, Infantino said that 2022 FIFA World Cup was exploring the possibility of having neighbouring countries host matches during the tournament, in order to reduce political tensions.

The official website of FIFA says: "La'eeb will be known for his youthful spirit; spreading joy and confidence everywhere he goes", and the official backstory of the character, published there, claims that it comes from a parallel world where tournament mascots live, "a world where ideas and creativity form the basis of characters that live in the minds of everyone".

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Selection of Qatar as the host country has been controversial; FIFA officials were accused of corruption and allowing Qatar to "buy" the World Cup, the treatment of construction workers was called into question by human rights groups, and the high costs needed to make the plans a reality were criticised.

European Union's Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the 2022 FIFA World Cup 2021 noted Qatar's labour law reforms that had incorporated non-discriminatory minimum wage systems and removal of the Kafala system in 2021.

FIFA executive committee member Theo Zwanziger said that awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar's desert state was a "blatant mistake".

On 19 March 2015, 2022 FIFA World Cup sources confirmed that the final would be played on 18 December.

Jim Boyce, vice-president of 2022 FIFA World Cup, has gone on record stating he would support a re-vote to find a new host if the corruption allegations are proven.

On 27 February 2022, FIFA announced a number of sanctions impacting Russia's participation in international football.