Brazilian football maestro Kaka will lead a star-studded line-up of pundits for beIN SPORTS’ (beIN) coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA).
beIN SPORTS is the Official Broadcaster of the global showpiece tournament in 24 MENA territories and France, and the 120 leading international, regional and local on-screen male and female talent brings together the greatest and most diverse broadcast team ever assembled.
Kaka won the 2002 FIFA World Cup, played 92 times for his country, finding the net on 29 occasions.
The 2007 Ballon d’Or winner is joined by the likes of 2010 FIFA World Cup winner David Villa, Argentina legend Gabriel Batistuta, former England internationals Gary Neville, John Terry and Lianne Sanderson, Italy’s 2006 winner Alessandro Del Piero, Denmark’s Peter Schmeichel, France’s Arsene Wenger and 1998 World Cup winner Marcel Desailly, Germany’s 1990 winner Lothar Matthaus, Dutchman Ruud Gullit and former Republic of Ireland international Jason McAteer.
Ghana’s Assistant Coach George Boateng will also join the beIN SPORTS team during the tournament.
Egyptian legend Mohamed Aboutrika leads the list of legends from the MENA region joining the beIN World Cup team. He will be joined by fellow Egyptian former professional footballers Wael Gomaa, Ahmed El Mohamady, Haytham Farouk, in addition to former Egyptian professional referee Gamal El Ghandour.
North African representation will come from Morocco’s Youssef Chippo, Algeria’s Rafik Saifi, along with Tunisia’s Hatem Al Trabelsi, Tarak Dhiab, Tarek Ghdiri and Karim Haggui. Legends from host country Qatar, and neighboring countries Saudi Arabia and Kuwait include – Mubarak Mustafa, Ibrahim Khalfan, Abdulaziz Al-Sulaiti, Yasser Al-Qahtani, Tariq Al-Jalahma, Saad Al-Hoti, and Faisal Al-Dakhil.
North American representation comes from former United States internationals Jermaine Jones and Christopher Sullivan, as well as former Canada women’s midfielder Kaylyn Kyle.
Fresh from hanging up his whistle, the Premier League’s dedicated VAR official Mike Dean will provide expert analysis on the laws of the game throughout the competition on beIN SPORTS. The 54-year old was a FIFA listed referee between 2003 to 2013 and officiated 560 Premier League games.
In all, the beIN SPORTS World Cup squad boast over 2000 international caps between them making it a formidable line-up bringing the tournament closer to beIN viewers than ever before.
beIN SPORTS’ Arabic and English language coverage will be led by a world-class line-up of presenters including Mohammed Saadon Al Kuwari, Ayman Jada, Abdelaziz Al Nasr, Abdulla Al Ali, Tariq Al-Hammad, Hichem Al Khalsi, Bassel Tabbal, Mohannad Jalli, Mohammad Kidan, Lakhdar Berriche, Meshari Al Khuziam, Nicky Crosby, Reshmin Chowdhury, Richard Keys and Andy Gray, in addition to over 50 first-rate reporters bringing round the clock reactions locally, regionally, and globally.
It will be a ‘fiesta’ of football that will inspire millions around the world. beIN SPORTS will be at the forefront of the action through its beINSPIRED initiative – a platform to elevate the profile of underrepresented sport and promote a diverse range of talent on beIN screens. Joining Kyle, Sanderson, Crosby and Chowdhury will be Carrie Brown on English language shows and Asya Abdullah, Stephany Saad, Khouloud Noui, Areej Sleem, Natali Rantissi, Leila Smati and Shaima Alhammadi on Arabic programming.
Every minute of all 64 FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM matches will be shown on seven (7) dedicated beIN SPORTS channels, with coverage in Arabic, English and French in HD as well as a dedicated 24-hour 4K channel, bringing an unrivalled viewing experience across the region.
Clips and highlights can be found on beIN SPORTS social media and digital platform throughout the tournament, meaning there are plenty of ways to follow the biggest football tournament in the world on beIN SPORTS.
Mohammed Al-Bader, Managing Director of beIN’s MENA Channels said: “With the greatest show on earth just weeks away, beIN SPORTS is delighted to have brought together the greatest and most diverse broadcast team ever assembled, who will proudly present the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 across 25 countries worldwide.
Our international, regional and local team is comprised of incredible legends of the game, who have seen and called it all. From World Cup’s, international and domestic glory, big goals in the biggest of games – our prized team will light up beIN SPORTS’ coverage of the World Cup and help create memories for a lifetime. It will be a fiesta of football proudly bought to millions of homes across the globe– only on beIN SPORTS, the home of football.”
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM gets underway on November 20 – live from the Al Bayt Stadium as hosts Qatar take on Ecuador, kick off is at 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT).
Other key matches from the Group Stages include 2010 winners Spain against 2014 winners Germany on November 27, Argentina v Mexico in Lusail on November 26, and a ‘local derby’ between England and Wales rounding off fixtures from Group B on November 29.
The FIFA World Cup Final will take place at the Lusail Stadium on December 18, with the match kicking off at 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT).