October 22 – In September the Qataris launched the official emblem for the 2022 World Cup. Last week they launched a new official emblem for this year’s Club World Cup to be played in December.
The design “reimagines a football as a pearl, in recognition of one of Qatar’s earliest industries. The decoration of the iridescent sphere is inspired by mashrabiyas, traditional architectural elements found in residences across the Middle East.”
Mashrabiya latticework dates back to the Middle Ages with the screens serving the dual purpose of cooling homes as well as elegant decoration.
The emblem unusually promotes the name and logo of a sponsor with ‘Presented by Alibaba Cloud’ incorporated into the design. While it is not unusual for events to incorporate sponsor logos together in a ‘lock-up’ graphic, or for there to naming sponsors, it is more unusual for the sponsor to get full naming recognition in the event ident.
There are now just 50 days to the kick off the Club World Cup which the Qataris are promoting as the “the pinnacle of global club football” but which is still perceived in Europe in particular as a lower-level diversion from the business of domestic and European competition.
Tickets went on sale today in an window that lasts until October 31. This sales window has an exclusivity for FIFA sponsor Visa in that ickets can only be bought using a Visa card.
The tournament opens December 11 with Qatar’s Al-Sadd playing Oceania qualifier Hienghène Sport from New Caledonia. The qualifier from Conmebol and Europe’s qualifier Liverpool don’t enter the competition until the semi-final stages on December 17 and 18. The final will be played December 21.
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