There are almost five months left in the FIFA World Cup and the enthusiasm of the fans around the world is in full swing. The World Cup is to be played in five cities in Qatar from November 21 to December 18. 2.35 crore fans have applied for tickets for this 28-day-long football tournament. Meanwhile, three million fans have applied for the title match to be held in Lusail on 18 December. So far more than 8 lakh tickets have been sold.
Most applications have been made by fans living in Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the US. Apart from the final, the demand for tickets for the matches of Argentina vs Mexico, Argentina vs Saudi Arabia, England vs America and Poland vs Argentina is the highest. Qatar is expected to net revenue of $ 20 billion to $ 25 billion (about 1.5 lakh crore to 1.9 lakh crore) from this football carnival.
Viewership will increase one and a half times compared to the 2018 FIFA World Cup
36 referees, 69 assistant referees, and 24 video match officials have been selected for the World Cup. Broadcasting experts expect the Qatar World Cup to be watched by around 5 billion people worldwide. That is, this time the viewership is expected to increase by one and a half times. While The viewership of the 2018 World Cup in Russia was 3.5 billion (350 crores). This is the first Football World Cup to be held in the Middle East.
Air tickets may increase by around 2000% Travel between the two Gulf countries (UAE and Qatar) during the World Cup will significantly accelerate as football fans fly through Doha to watch matches. According to data from airlines, airfares from UAE to Qatar can increase by almost 2000%.
Fans will be traveling exclusively from Dubai to Qatar. Raheesh Babu, COO, Musafir.com, said, “As Qatar is facing a shortage of hotel rooms. But we are confident that Dubai will be a suitable place to live for people coming from other regions to watch the World Cup.’
This will increase tourism in the UAE as well. Airline Fly Dubai has announced that it will fly over 60 daily flights to Qatar during the World Cup. Many airlines will offer special shuttle flights to Doha. These will be for ticket holders only.