Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ from 21 November to 18 December 2022. WHO and the State of Qatar have teamed up with FIFA on the Healthy 2022 World Cup project.

The project aims to ensure the tournament will be a healthy and safe event and that the measures implemented and lessons learned will support the delivery of healthy and safe mega sporting events in the future.

The objectives of the project are to ensure both the delivery and legacy of a healthy and safe FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ by setting the event as an impactful, sustainable and lasting model that promotes integration of health, security and wellbeing for future mega sport events. 

The main pillars that the Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ project focus on are supporting people to practice healthy lifestyles, including through physical activity, healthy diets and tobacco cessation and control; promoting health security, with a focus on ensuring mass gatherings and events are safe; and advocacy and awareness-raising for health.

Pillar 1: Health Promotion

Physical activity:

Providing options for people to lead healthy lives is at the heart of health promotion, including through physical activity, which is a priority of the Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ project.

The project will promote ways for people to be able to increase physical activity, raise awareness of the importance of physical activity, and show how it can support people’s health in other ways, from mental health to tobacco prevention.

The objective is to increase levels of physical activity through national and sub national policy and interventions aimed at:

• Increasing knowledge, awareness and motivation;
• Creating enabling physical environments;
• Increasing access to physical activity, exercise and sports programs and services; and
• Strengthening governance and information systems to support sustained and effective implementation.

The project aims to reach millions of people inside Qatar, and those travelling to the country for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, as well as to build a legacy after the tournament of promoting physical activity to people worldwide, including through the use of digital technology.

Healthy food:

Consuming a healthy diet throughout our lives contributes greatly to promoting healthy lives. Promoting access to healthy food and healthy food environments is a priority of the Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ project.

A healthy diet can prevent all forms of malnutrition as well as diabetes, cancers and other noncommunicable diseases. 

An objective of the project is to promote and protect healthy food and healthy food environments by focusing on healthy diets in and around sports stadia involved in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and hundreds of schools; and at community level, by developing, implementing, monitoring and enforcing comprehensive policy for healthy, safe and sustainable food. 

Read more: Healthier food and healthier food environments at sports events: an action guide for sports event organizers

Pillar 3: Awareness-raising