World Cup 2022: What fans on the ground in Qatar can expect

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

Editor's note: The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar begins Nov. 21, 2022, only on FOX networks. All this week, we'll have stories and videos counting down to the one-year-out mark.

This time next year, thousands of futbol fanatics from across the globe will descend upon the tiny Middle Eastern nation of Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. What will it be like on the ground when they get there?

In so many ways, this World Cup will be unprecedented. For many of those fortunate enough to go, the experience will be completely new. Most have little idea what to expect.

"I had very little information about the country before I moved here," Xavi Hernandez recently told FOX Sports via email. He spent six years in Qatar as a player and coach before being named Barcelona’s new manager on Nov. 5. "I had never been to Qatar, and like almost everyone I know who has come to the country, I was positively surprised by what Qatar is like and what the Qataris are like. I can only speak well of my experience."

Xavi, of course, was a key member of the great Spanish team that won three major trophies in a row between 2008 and 2012, including the 2010 World Cup. He retired as one of the most decorated playmakers of his generation, but he is revered in Qatar for his decision to finish his stellar playing career not in MLS or Japan, as some of his former teammates did, but with Al Sadd, Qatar’s top club.

After hanging up his boots in 2019, Xavi became Al Sadd’s coach, so his experience might not be typical. But whenever his friends or members of his extended family visited him in Doha, they also liked what they found.

"I think people often come with a preconception, and in the end, they are surprised by what the country is like," he said. "It happens to the vast majority of people who travel here."

It happened to Alexi Lalas. The former U.S. World Cup team defender and current FOX Sports analyst flew to Qatar for the first time in September. He was among a number of former pros who FIFA has been trying to sell on its idea to stage the World Cup every two years.

"I thought it was gonna be more artificial, I guess, more fabricated," Lalas said of his first impression. "That doesn’t mean it’s not new and shiny. But you still felt a history, a culture, a past. It never felt two-dimensional or plastic the way that I thought it might."

The thing that struck Lalas most was the size of the place. If Qatar were a U.S. state, it would rank 48th in square mileage. That its eight stadiums all sit within a 30-mile radius of the capital of Doha makes it feel even smaller.

"We went to the farthest-away stadium, and it was a nothing drive," Lalas said. "I think it’s going to be the ultimate party because of that proximity and the ease of getting around. To have all of that power condensed and concentrated in one city will be pretty cool."

Safety concerns were front and center at the previous three men’s World Cups (in South Africa, Brazil and Russia), but, according to Xavi, visitors shouldn't have to worry walking after dark in Doha.

"The security is tremendous. There is no crime," Xavi said. "When people ask what it’s like, I say that the quality of life here is very good and that hospitality, respect and the values of the Qatari culture are very rich."

And when supporters aren’t busy attending two games in two stadiums on the same day, they’ll have plenty of other things to do. Camel racing and dune buggy tours are among the excursions Lalas has planned when he returns to Qatar with colleague Stuart Holden for 10 days next month.

"People are going to be amazed by the restaurants, shopping, beaches and diverse museums and cultural sites when they visit," Xavi said, adding that while authentic food from his native Catalonia is hard to come by, just about every other cuisine is readily available.

And, in case you were wondering, so is alcohol.

"That was the first thing people asked me when I got back," Lalas said. "That was a huge thing at one point — the idea that fans wouldn’t be able to drink. I can guarantee you that you’re going to have plenty of opportunity to be served whatever and whenever you want."

Will that be enough to convince some of the fence-sitters to book the 12- to 15-hour flights? Maybe. After all, Americans bought more tickets to the previous two men’s tournaments than fans of any other nation besides the hosts.

"I get that there is some trepidation about this World Cup for any number of reasons," Lalas said. "It’s a place a lot of people haven’t been and don’t necessarily know a lot about. But I’ll tell you what: I think that this World Cup, just from a pure fan perspective, has the potential to be the greatest experiential-type of World Cup that people can go to."

One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.