With collectibles and inspiring films, the "World of Football" exhibition celebrates Qatar's journey towards the 2022 World Cup

Doha - With its historical collections, inspiring experiences and educational sections that infuse the spirit of interaction in the hearts of visitors, the exhibition "The World of Football" at the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum 3-2-1 celebrates the 2022 World Cup  , which will be held for the first time in the Middle East and the Arab world.

The exhibition, which is part of the "Qatar Innovates" initiative, takes its visitors on a journey through the history of the beginnings of football, and highlights its ability to bring people of all ages, nationalities and cultures closer.

The collections of the exhibition, which will run until April 1, 2023, highlight the first origins of football, the establishment of the World Cup, the stories of the most prominent greats of the game in different eras, and the achievements of Qatari football throughout its history.

In the exhibition, there is a special section for the Qatar World Cup that will receive daily collectibles from the 64 matches of the tournament, with 32 shirts signed by the leaders of the participating teams, and the opening and final match cards.

Director of the Qatar Olympic Sports Museum Abdullah Al Mulla stresses that the President of Qatar Museums, Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, is the one behind the idea of ​​holding the exhibition in cooperation with the International Football Association "FIFA" (FIFA), in order to celebrate and promote the World Cup in Qatar, and to connect the masses in Qatar. And around the world in Qatari creative industries.

Historic shirts

Al Jazeera Net toured the exhibition through its eight sections, whose idea was inspired by the 120-minute football match, and shows the effort and creativity that provide visitors with a unique experience to learn about the foundations and laws of football, and the history of the World Cup since its launch in Uruguay in 1930 until Qatar 2022.

The eight sections of the exhibition tell immortal success stories of the most prominent stars of the game and Qatar. The first section, "The History of Football in the World", includes collectibles at various levels, whether for children, youth, men or women, and tells the story of the beginning of football from China to Britain through unique collectibles.

The second section is devoted to referees, and includes historical holdings, most notably the first hand-written football law dating back to 1863, and it was borrowed from the English National Museum, as well as interactive devices that educate visitors about the laws of football.

Al-Mulla told Al-Jazeera Net that in this exhibition, care was taken to pay attention to the rulers "underestimating their right" in all football exhibitions, and therefore a special section was devoted to educating visitors about the laws of football through interactive devices that provide questions and 3 answers, from which the visitor tests his information.

While the third section, "The Greats of Football", focuses on the stars of the round witch through historical shirts, most notably the famous blue shirt of Argentine legend Diego Maradona, which he wore when he scored two goals in the famous match against England in the 1986 World Cup, and the shirt of the legend Pele bears his signature and dates back to the year 1971, and another for French Zinedine Zidane, who led his country to the first World Cup title in 1998.

Zoff glove

Al-Mulla explains that the section includes shirts for the most prominent stars of the football club, including Franz Beckenbauer, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Samuel Eto'o, Xavi Hernandez and others, in addition to the ball with which he played the 2014 World Cup final and signed by all German players.

It also includes a soccer ball owned by the heirs of Jose Nsazi, the captain of the Uruguayan national team, who won the World Cup in 1930, the Italian glove, Dino Zoff, who competed in the 1982 World Cup, and Germany's Manuel Neuer in the 2018 World Cup.

The fourth section, "The Road to Doha", reviews the 31 teams that qualified for the World Cup in Qatar through collections and posters for the teams historically sequenced from 1930 to 2022, in addition to an interactive device that educates visitors with information about the history of the World Cup since the first tournament, and the teams' journey to Doha.

The fifth section, "The Qatar World Cup", constitutes Qatar's journey towards hosting the World Cup through holdings that include the Qatar file that was submitted to the International Federation of the game, the flag of the hosting file, a replica of Qatar's winning card to host the World Cup, and a poster of the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani as he raises The cup, and a documentary about the last 5 minutes in Zurich to announce the host, as well as 8 models of the Qatar World Cup stadiums.

As for the sixth section, "Qatari Achievements", it reveals the history of football in Qatar from 1935 to 2022, and includes holdings that highlight all the achievements of teams, clubs, football and administrative players.

love in Qatar

While the seventh section, "Love in Qatar", was devoted to exhibits, handicrafts and special drawings made by Afghan children when they came to Qatar, as a kind of giving back to the State of Qatar for standing by Afghanistan in humanity and sports.

Finally, the eighth section is devoted to “Daily Collectibles” for the Qatar 2022 World Cup collectibles, which will receive daily collectibles from the 64 matches of the tournament from the opening match to the final, as well as other balls, shoes, scarves, tickets and posters documenting this version and celebrating the events that make history in Qatar.

Al Mulla considers that the most prominent possessions of this section will be two balls, one of the balls of the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador, and another of the balls of the final match that will be held at Lusail Stadium on December 18, as well as 32 shirts signed by the leaders of the participating teams, and collectibles. The tournament belongs to all aspects of the game.

He explains that the Qatar World Cup collections will be professionally placed in the exhibition, provided that after the exhibition ends, ownership will be transferred to the Qatar Olympic Sports Museum, and placed in Hall No. 5 "Qatar and Hosting Championships" in the place designated for the football tournaments hosted by Qatar from 1976 to 2022.

The collectibles, films and images displayed in the World of Football exhibition belong to a variety of local and international institutions, some of which are on loan from international football collectors and museums, as well as pieces from the Qatar Olympic Sports Museum.