A “really incredible” World Cup, which projects to be the best ever: Qatar 2022 breaks records, according to FIFA President

As the 2022 FIFA World Cup fever grips everybody on the planet, with a huge attention received by the competition throughout the whole world, record-breaking audiences have been set, both in the venues of the competition – the eight state-of-the-art stadiums in Qatar – and in front of the TVs in the countries that are taking part to the competition.

The Round of 16 match between the Netherlands and the United States of America was a huge hit in the Dutch market, with 88.2% of all the TV viewers in the Netherlands at the time of the match watching the NPO1’s live broadcast. 4.79 million people were the average audience of the game, the highest in the tournament so far in the Netherlands and higher than any game during the previous edition in any territory.

It was just an example of how popular the 2022 FIFA World Cup proves to be, with record-setting numbers also registered in Japan or the Republic of Korea, with every expectation being exceeded in several markets.

“Record-breaking figures on TV – we already had over two billion viewers, which is really incredible. Two-and-a-half million people in the streets of Doha and a few hundred thousand every day in the stadiums, all together, cheering together, supporting their teams, fantastic atmosphere, great goals, incredible excitement and surprises,” said FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, according to the official website of the competition.

In just 13 days, the FIFA Fan Festival proved to be a huge hit among the fans, which could see every game from the Qatar 2022 tournament live on giant screens, enjoy performances from world-famous artists, and feature a range of food and beverage options to cater to every need.

And just after the group phase at Qatar 2022 was completed, FIFA announced that the Fan Festival hosted exactly 1,000,000 fans, a huge number that underlines the popularity of the competition throughout the world and especially in the host country, Qatar.

“I have seen all the matches, indeed, and put very simply and very clearly, this has been the best group stage of a FIFA World Cup ever. So, it’s very promising for the remainder of the FIFA World Cup. The matches have been of great, great quality in beautiful stadiums – we knew that already. However, as well, the public who was there was incredible. Over 51,000 on average,” added the FIFA President.

Indeed, after the first two rounds of the group phase, the attendance registered over the eight venues at Qatar 2022 was 94%, the second-largest ever in the history of the competition, just shy of the record set at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which took place in the United States of America, a co-host of the next edition of the mega sporting event.

“We hope that the FIFA World Cup continues and concludes as it has started – a fantastic success. I am sure that we will reach five billion viewers around the world,” President Infantino continued. “When it comes to stadium attendance, the stadiums are sold-out, full practically at every match. The fan festivals, the different fan zones, are also very crowded with people celebrating and enjoying [themselves].”

The TV audiences have also tuned in to Qatar 2022, with a new record expected at the end of the tournament, with five of the eight billion people in the world tuning in for at least one minute to see the magic of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“And at the end [of the day], we simply want to give some joy and some smiles to people all over the world. That’s what football is about, that’s what the FIFA World Cup is about, and that’s what should also happen from now until the end,” concluded Infantino.