Fewer European fans will be traveling to Qatar to attend the coming FIFA World Cup between November 20 and December 18 compared with the previous editions of the tournament, according to The Athletic which talked to football associations of the countries qualified for Qatar 2022.

There are a total of 13 European teams qualified for this year’s World Cup: Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland and Wales.

Of the eight associations from these countries that responded to The Athletic’s query, seven reported drops in the numbers of fans who have booked tickets for the World Cup.

For example, supporters for France in Qatar will be only one-sixth of their size in Russia in 2018, according to Fabien Bonnel, founder of "Irrésistibles Français" Dutch fans set to attend the 2022 World Cup will only be 60 percent of their regular number, according to the sports website.

The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said that they have received only 3,000 applications for each game in Qatar. By contrast, the number for each group game in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was 5,000. The Swiss Football Association had 5,000 applications from fans for all three group games combined. However, it is still "far fewer" than that for the last edition of the World Cup.

A building decorated with the flags of the participating teams in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar, October 11, 2022. /CFP

Even Wales, which qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 64 years, saw a smaller pool of interested fans in Qatar 2022 than in the UEFA European Championship in 2016 in France. Polish, Croatian and Belgian football governing bodies all reported drops in fan attendance as well.

England seems to be the only exception. The Football Association told The Athletic that the ticket applications it received for the 2022 World Cup are similar to that for the previous editions. Nonetheless, there is only one oversubscribed game for England: The final group game against Wales.

There are various reasons behind the fall in fan attendance from Europe in the Qatar World Cup. The KNVB cited differences in cost and dates. The World Cup is usually held in summer but the one in Qatar is taking place in winter. Dutch people also celebrate the Sinterklaas holiday on December 5 and 6, and the academic semester is already underway.

COVID-19 is another major reason cited by some football associations. The European Championship last year was also affected by the pandemic. Fans will need to download the Qatari government’s Ehteraz phone app which will track their health status and movements before they are allowed to attend the World Cup.

AE News