Iran to offer free visas upon arrival for Qatar's 2022 FIFA World Cup spectators

On Wednesday Iran announced that it will waive visa fees for spectators of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, in the hope to attract the football fans coming to attend the World Cup to Qatar. 

The spokesperson of the Iranian government, Ali Bahadori-Jahromi, said in his tweet that the Iranian Cabinet has agreed to make visas free for spectators of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar who wish to visit Iran. He further added that this decision will boost the tourism industry in the country.

"The Cabinet agreed to make visas free for spectators of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar who wish to visit Iran. This decision aims to encourage tourists to visit Iran during the World Cup and boost the tourism industry there," Ali Bahadori-Jahromi, spokesperson of the Iranian government tweeted.

This development comes following Qatari Transport Minister Jassim bin Saif al-Sulaiti's visit to Iran's Kish island where he signed six cooperation agreements on Sunday and Monday, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported. Kish is a 92 square kilometre (35 square miles) resort island with white sand beaches. It is a 40-minute flight or six-hour boat ride from the capital of Qatar.

2022 FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup 2022 for the very first time the event is coming to the Middle East region with Qatar being the first gulf nation to host it. 

The decision to host FIFA World Cup 2022 was part of FIFA's pledge to stage at least one major international tournament in the region before 2030. While the Qatar 2022 tournament faced a lot of objections, FIFA still decided to go ahead with the tournament in the Middle Eastern nation.

FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022 tournament to be played in the winter 

Qatar was chosen by FIFA over rival bids from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the USA during the final vote in 2010. While the FIFA World Cup is usually played in summer the Qatar 2022 event will be played in winter. The main reason behind the decision was soaring summer temperatures in the country.

According to a report by Sportingnews.com, excessive heat in Qatar, with average temperatures at the end of April reaching around 92 F (33 C) was the reason behind the decision. The winter temperatures in Qatar, and specifically in the Doha region, average between 70-77F (21-25 C), compared to over 100 F (37 C) in the region's summer. 

FIFA World Cup 2022 groups

Group A: Qatar (hosts), Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands

Group B: England, Iran, United States, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine

Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland

Group D: France, Peru/Australia/UAE, Denmark, Tunisia

Group E: Spain, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Germany, Japan

Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia

Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon

Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

FIFA World Cup 2022 fixtures

The tournament kicks off on Monday, November 21 and will be wrapped up in less than a month with the final tabbed for Sunday, December 18. The Group stage of the FIFA World Cup will be played between November 21 to December 2.

Following the completion of the Group stage, the Round of 16 clashes will be played from December 3-6.

The Quarterfinals stage of the tournament will be played from December 9-10. The Semifinal matches will be played on December 13-14, while the third-place match and Final will be played on December 17 and December 18 respectively.