Nasser Al Khater, the CEO of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, announced the strategy for media coverage of this momentous occasion and stated that 12,300 journalists from various media sources had been formally accredited to cover the events of the competition.
In order to keep up with this biggest and most significant sporting event, the organizing committee has made every effort to assure exceptional media coverage.
In this context, media representatives’ permits have been approved to cover the tournament, and all FIFA member football federations have received a certain quota of written press and photographer permits to be distributed later to national media institutions and their representatives.
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FIFA explained that non-rights-holding institutions, radio or television companies that do not have the rights to broadcast the FIFA Qatar 2022, will be provided a very limited number of permits and they will not be allowed to enter stadiums on match days.
FIFA TV is directly responsible for media rights licensees, TV and radio rights holders, and the FIFA broadcasting services team keeps in regular contact with media rights licensees and will inform them directly about the accreditation procedures and everything related to permits. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be the most distinctive edition since 1930 for the short distances between the stadiums, the tournament will also witness four matches per day during the group stage, and most of the events will be in Doha and its surroundings without the need for domestic flights, and one accommodation can be sufficient for the duration of the tournament.
FIFA and Qatar 2022 will provide advanced infrastructure and services for accredited media, and the Main Media Centre (MMC) will be co-located with the International Broadcast Centre, which will serve as a transfer centre to the participating teams’ headquarters the day before each match and to the eight amazing stadiums, the nearest of which is the Education City Stadium, which is only 4km from the main media centre, and the farthest will be Al Bayt Stadium, located 45km away.
The media can request to attend a maximum of two matches per day during the group stage, provided that they are not consecutive, in order to leave plenty of time to move between stadiums. MMC will provide fully equipped facilities for accredited media to follow the matches and press conferences remotely, and all press conferences will be held the day before each match at the centre.
Al Khater indicated that the MMC will be located in the Education City’s Qatar National Convention Centre, underlining that it will have a virtual stadium to allow journalists who do not have a ticket to attend the matches, to provide a distinct and unique experience.
Al Khater confirmed that 78 channels have obtained the rights to broadcast the tournament, in addition to seven centre that will be allocated studios for broadcasting the World Cup, and more than 95 percent of them have been booked. He stressed that Qatar has made great efforts to help media outlets that do not have FIFA permits, and their main centre will be in Msheireb, along with two other centres at Doha Corniche, and Souq Waqif.
SC’s Executive Director of Communications and Media Fatima Al Nuaimi said that the digital platform Qatar Media Portal is a valuable resource for media professionals and representatives of broadcasters from all over the world to cover the World Cup competitions and accompanying events.
She continued, “SC is delighted to put in their hands the best services and the necessary facilities, which guarantee an exceptional media experience.” SC is looking forward to welcoming thousands of media professionals and representatives of broadcasters to participate in the coverage of the historically significant events of the championship.
All media professionals and representatives of broadcasters who will cover the tournament, regardless of whether they have permits from the host country or FIFA permits, as well as media representatives from media rights holders from FIFA and non-media rights holders, can use the portal to obtain entry permits to Qatar (Hayya cards) and photography permits.
