FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: The Volunteers

Qatar will host the World Cup for the first time in a few short weeks. An estimated 1.5 million fans will visit the country and see some of the world's best players compete for the ultimate prize in football.

But this World Cup is about more than just the players. Thousands of people have been working hard behind the scenes to pull this tournament together, including over 20,000 volunteers from over 160 countries ready to play their part in the biggest sporting event on earth.

For many volunteers, this is a huge opportunity to see some of the world's elite footballers in the flesh for the first time. Fans of the Champions League and Europa League regularly see the top players travel around the continent to play in Europe's biggest competitions.

Once volunteers sign up, they wait to find out which department they will be assigned. It's then the hard work starts. An extensive training programme began earlier in the year and took place at the Doha Exhibition Centre. The vast facility welcomes hundreds of volunteers visiting every day for seminars, team-building exercises and in-depth education about their roles when the matches begin.

A core part of the training is abiding by the 'four pillars' of matchday volunteering. Making the fan experience at matches the best it can be, starts with these fundamentals.

The FIFA 2022 volunteering programme is just another piece of the puzzle that Qatar is putting together ahead of this World Cup next month. With over a 1.5million fans expected in the country during the tournament, ready to populate the stadiums, metro stations, fan zones and more, the role of the volunteers is absolutely crucial. They are the first port of call for any information and queries fans need when residing in Doha. But for the volunteers themselves, they are ready for an experience that will give them skills and friendships for life, as well as the achievement of being a key part in the biggest sporting event on earth.