FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Tickets on sale now but can you get to Qatar and where will you be able to stay?

FIFA have now started their first phase of ticket sales for the World Cup but a number of problems face fans looking to travel to Qatar in November.

In just over 10 months time, the FIFA World Cup will kick off at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. With 13 of the 32 participating teams having already been confirmed, including hosts Qatar and the current holders France, FIFA have announced ticket sale dates and prices.

The first phase of ticket sales runs for the next three weeks from January 19th to February 8th with the cheapest ticket prices for international fans ranging from £50, for the lowest category tickets for 47 group matches, to £450 for the cheapest final ticket.

However, if you live in Qatar there are cheaper options available with prices ranging from £8 for a group match to £150 for a final ticket. If however, you wish for a Category 1 ticket for the 2022 World Cup Final, it will set you back about £1200 if you are a travelling international fan!

You will pay even more if you wish for a hospitality ticket, which comes with food and drink albeit no alcohol due to the strict laws in the country.

There are a handful of direct flight options from the UK to Qatar with British Airways flying direct to Doha from London and Qatar Airways also flying to Doha directly from Edinburgh, Manchester and London as well as from Dublin in Ireland.

Prices for direct return flights during the World Cup are currently priced around £1000-£1500, about two to three times higher than normal. However, unlike other recent World Cups in Russia and Brazil, once you are in the host country fans will not need to spend much on travel as all eight stadia are less than 50 miles apart.

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The biggest logistical problem however for fans during this World Cup is likely to be finding somewhere affordable to sleep. There are no hotels currently available to book as these have been blocked booked out already. FIFA have launched a website promising options available from March, which include “hotels, apartments and villas, as well as a Fan Village desert camping and rooms aboard cruise ships.”

Another option for fans is to stay in nearby Dubai or Abu Dhabi, where there are significantly greater hotel options and to fly in for matches on game day on the short one-and-a-half-hour flight, equivalent to flying between London and Edinburgh.

However, fans opting for this solution would need to be wary of COVID-19 entry requirements, which at present include a mandatory PCR test within 72 hours of arriving as well as applying for a Qatar entry form and having it approved online each time they popped over to see a match.

With the World Cup moving away from the traditional June/July months to November and December, European fans at least will be happy to escape the typically cold winter temperatures to enjoy a month-long festival of football in pleasant temperatures.

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