One of the world`s most-watched sporting events, the FIFA Men`s World Cup, will be hosted in Qatar starting 21 November 2022. The previous edition of this tournament, hosted in Russia, was broadcast to over 3 billion viewers worldwide,4 and Qatar is preparing to welcome over 1.2 million visitors for the upcoming competition.5 Sporting events have been used in the past as platforms for spreading important awareness of health issues. This world football championship, involving 32 international teams, is unique given the context of the ongoing pandemic. Currently, FIFA has partnered with the WHO to promote equitable access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics, and to encourage public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.6 This collaboration is further strengthened by FIFA`s financial pledge of US$10 million to support the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.7 Thus, the upcoming World Cup presents an exceptional opportunity for COVID-19 health promotion and collaboration with international sports organisations, health authorities, and governments to enhance public vaccine confidence. Vaccines have been shown to remain effective in preventing disease severity, even in the wake of new COVID-19 variants.8 Organising a large-scale public event like the FIFA Men`s World Cup requires comprehensive planning and multidisciplinary efforts to prevent COVID-19, including using the publicity of the event to encourage vaccine uptake. Even though the FIFA World Cup requires the fans and players to be vaccinated for travel, this event still provides an important platform and opportunity to raise awareness on the importance of booster shots, especially given the rising concern for new COVID-19 variants.
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