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It was back in December 2010 that former FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup, sparking wild celebrations on the streets of Doha. In the 12 years that followed, Qatar launched the largest infrastructure project in World Cup history to ensure that stadiums, transport links, airports and accommodation facilities would be ready in time for the big kickoff, and has reportedly spent $229b (16x the amount invested by previous host Russia).
According to Front Office Sports, South Africa reportedly spent $3.6 billion on the 2010 World Cup, successfully spending less on infrastructure than previous hosts Germany ($4.3 billion in 2006), and Japan and South Korea ($7 billion in 2002). The stadiums and other infrastructure projects of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil cost a reported $15 billion, while $11.6 billion was spent on the 2018 World Cup in Russia. None of these figures come close to the estimated cost of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which is beyond a doubt the most expensive World Cup in history.
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