January 19 – FIFA has released a set of numbers and significant achievements/records that were generated by their World Cup month in Qatar. Top of those numbers is the claim that 5 billion people engaged with the tournament.
Other notable numbers are:
– The Argentina vs France had a global reach of almost 1.5 billion viewers
– The opening match (Qatar vs Ecuador) had almost 550 million viewers
– almost 6 billion engagements on social media, with 262 billion cumulative reach across all platforms
– On social media, according to Nielsen, there have been 93.6 million posts across all platforms, with a 262 billion cumulative reach and 5.95 billion engagements.
– 3.4 million spectators – up from 3 million in 2018 – watched games in stadiums
– 172 goals made Qatar 2022 became the highest scoring FIFA World Cup in history – the previous highest total was 171, in both 1998 and 2014.
– Three matches at Lusail Stadium, including the Final, saw the highest attendance for a match registered at a FIFA World Cup since USA 1994 when Brazil played Italy in front of 94,194 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
– Cristiano Ronaldo became the first man to score at five FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022)
– Lionel Messi became the first player to score in four successive knockout stage matches in a FIFA World Cup since the round of 16 was introduced into the modern era, at Mexico ‘86.
– Messi made his 26th FIFA World Cup appearance in the final, overtaking the record previously held by Lothar Matthäus.
– The fastest goal came after just 68 seconds when Canada’s Alphonso Davies, scored against Croatia.
– At just 18 years and 110 days, Spain’s Gavi became the youngest goal scorer at a World Cup since Pelé in 1958, with a stunning strike during the 7-0 win against Costa Rica.
– Stéphanie Frappart became the first woman in FIFA World Cup history to referee a finals match. Together with assistants Neuza Back and Karen Diaz, she composed the first-ever female trio to officiate in the tournament.
– The eight group stage winners included teams from four different confederations for only the third time, and the first in 20 years (1986, 2002, 2022).
– Three teams from the AFC reached the round of 16 for the first time in FIFA World Cup history.
– Qatar 2022 was the first time an African team made it to the semi-final, with Morocco’s incredible campaign uniting the Middle East and Arab world.
– 1.85 million visitors attended the FIFA Fan Festival in Doha.
– FIFA+ live-streamed the entire tournament in Brazil.
– All global and regional sponsorship packages were sold out, with the 32 commercial affiliates activating more than 600 special marketing programmes.
– The tournament was supported by 20,000 volunteers, selected from 150 nationalities. 17,000 volunteers were residents of Qatar; 3,000 were international.
– There were 180,000 accredited people, including more than 10,000 media representatives.
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