Google announces new features for football fans ahead of the FIFA World Cup™

To help make it easier for people across the Middle East & North Africa to stay up-to-date with the FIFA World Cup™, Google announced today a range of new features on Search, Maps and YouTube. The features will help everyone, from football enthusiasts to casual fans to find useful information about matches, stay up to date with the latest news and find venues to watch the matches. 

Commenting on availability of the new features, Najeeb Jarrar, Head of Consumer Marketing at Google in the Middle East & North Africa region said: “We’ve seen the excitement locally around the FIFA World Cup™ this year, especially since it’s being held in our region for the first time. This is why we were keen on helping people make the most out of the experience by offering new features to stay up-to-date with the tournament, discover local businesses and get more insights from matches, so they can continue to enjoy this global event whether they’re following virtually or the over 1.2 million people expected to attend in person in Qatar”. 

Follow tournaments, athletes and teams on Google Search: 

To help people keep up to date with the tournament, when people  search for the “World Cup” on Google, they can now click on the bell in the top-right hand corner to receive notifications about their favorite matches, teams or players. Those using Android,  can also pin the scores on their screen to keep up with matches while on the go.  

For sports enthusiasts, Google will share in-depth match stats to assess the performance of teams, which people can also choose based on their preference, after each game. Moreover, people will be able to track win probability and changes throughout the game, including important moments during matches. 

Search provides football fans with in-depth information about any match including the win probability measure

To feel the sense of community that comes with sports, people will be able to rate players based on how they think they performed, and see how that rating stands up against the others. There will also be a multiplayer online game where people from around the world will work together to help their chosen team score the highest number of goals to win after each real-life match. 

A snippet of how the interactive scoring game works

Finding exciting content from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ on YouTube and Google Search

World Cup fans around the globe can catch up on and rewatch the most exciting moments of every game on YouTube via the FIFA channel and official broadcasters channels. As some matches are aired at times that may not suit everybody’s schedule, fans can find match highlights and video recaps from FIFA+ and official broadcasters including beIN SPORTS linked in Google Search after every game.

People can also find exclusive Shorts and long-form content for this year’s World Cup from creators including gaming creators AboFlah and Rima, sports creator Amr Nassouhy (Saba7o Korah), and  lifestyle creator Noor Stars. Additionally, fans at home can join in the excitement by following #ShortsFIFAWorldCup and create their own reactions on top of FIFA's historic archive on YouTube utilizing the Shorts Remix feature.

Watching the matches with convenience, inside and outside Qatar

People can now find the best and most convenient places to watch the World Cup across the Middle East and North Africa region by typing “Where to watch the world cup near me” on Search. Business owners should review their local rules about showing sporting events to the public before applying the new attribute. Those interested in adding the information to their business profile can follow guidance available on the Google Business Profile Help Page. 

To help over a million visitors expected to land in Qatar, Google Maps now offers more detailed information about transit systems and road closures. Additional information on roads, footpaths across central Doha and points of interest in Qatar have also been added to Google Maps. 

The announcement comes as the world gears up for the start of the FIFA World Cup™, and is part of Google’s efforts to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible.  

Please let us know if you have any questions.