(Podcast length - 4:40 mins)
Get your game face on for the biggest sporting event in the world.
Transcript
1. The World Cup is every four years and typically occurs in the summer during the break between European soccer seasons. Due to the extreme heat in Qatar, the tournament moved to November, which disrupts the professional soccer season for most of the world. BOYS OF SUMMER WINTER
2. The World Cup is taking place in a Muslim country in the Middle East for the first time. Fans who are in Qatar to party are going to have to tone it down. The consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Islam. Alcohol will only be available to visitors at licensed hotel restaurants and bars away from street view. Fans can buy alcoholic drinks in fan zones at matches. Official beer sponsor Budweiser has had to jump through hoops with its beer stands after the Qatari rulers wanted alcohol to be less prominent. FEAR THE BEER
3. A total of eight stadiums spread across five different Qatari cities will host the 32 teams, but the crown jewel is Stadium 974, the world's first transportable soccer arena. The temporary stadium is made of repurposed shipping containers and can be completely dismantled, transported to another country and put back together like your Legos. PLACES TO GO
4. This is likely the last World Cup for soccer legends Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) and Lionel Messi (Argentina). The two have won almost every soccer award, but neither has the illustrious World Cup trophy. Hoping to stand in their way of victory is defending champions France and the youngest team the USA has ever fielded. Led by phenom Christian Pulisic, Team USA is looking for redemption after missing the 2018 tournament in Russia. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
5. The tourney has its fair share of controversy, with former FIFA President Sepp Blatter coming out and saying giving the tournament to Qatar was a mistake, and that it should've gone to the US. (The US, Mexico and Canada will host in 2026). Regardless, all eyes will be on Qatar as the World Cup is one of the most significant sporting events in the world and is watched by billions of people. We're not kidding – the 2018 World Cup peaked with 3.57B viewers. (For reference, the Super Bowl garners 99.18M eyeballs).
How to watch:
When: Sunday, November 20 - Sunday, December 18
The US kick-off their campaign against Wales on November 21 on (FOX)
TV Channel: The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be broadcast live across FOX Sports (FOX and FS1) in English and on Telemundo in Spanish.
Live Stream: You can live stream the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Peacock, Fubo, SlingTV, and Vidgo.
The month-long World Cup has two stages: a "Group Stage" and a "Knockout Stage." In the first stage (the "Group Stage"), the 32 teams are placed into eight groups of four teams each. Here's an article with more information on the stages.
Sports Curious presented by Last Night's Game, is here to take the awkward out of the conversation and help you join the sports conversation, even if you don't know the first thing about sports. We break down what's happening in sports in an easy-to-understand, fun way without all of the statistics and jargon so you never have to exit stage left when the chatter at the office, dinner table or a networking event switches to sports.
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