UN pass resolution on 2022 FIFA World Cup

On 8 April 2022, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution welcoming the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar football championship and hailed the promotion of the tournament as a public health benchmark for other nations hosting future large sporting events. The assembly further expressed its support for the launch of a multi-year collaboration among the International Federation of Association Football, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Qatar, which aims to make the 2022 World Cup a beacon for the promotion of healthy lives, physical and mental health and psychosocial well-being. 

The project goals are very closely tied to the WHO’s #HealthForAll campaign, which underscores that noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases can be prevented by reducing risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diets, and physical inactivity. After the World Cup ends, the project will be evaluated in an effort to build a legacy aimed at developing and implementing an outreach plan for the WHO to identify new opportunities to apply the benchmarks set by Qatar during the event. 

The World Cup, the first to be held in the Middle East, is scheduled to be held in Qatar from 21 November to 18 December 2022. 

Source: WHO, 14 April 2022