The FIFA World Cup opening ceremony will be held at the Al Bait Stadium in Al Khor on Sunday

All roads lead to the Al Bait Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar this Sunday as the FIFA World Cup 2022 opening ceremony kicks off the quadrennial football extravaganza ahead of the tournament opener between the hosts and Ecuador. Cultural events depicting the heritage and culture of the host countries and grand opening ceremonies with performances by leading global singers and artists have been a prominent feature of football World Cup opening ceremonies in the past.

FIFA World Cup 2022 Opening Ceremony India Start Time

The FIFA World Cup 2022 opening ceremony will start at 5:00 PM local time in Qatar or 7:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) in India. Watch 2022 FIFA World Cup 2022 Opening Ceremony Live in India. As the headline act for the 30-minute opening ceremony, Jangkook will perform Dreamers, the hit single from the official FIFA World Cup soundtrack, alongside Qatari singer Fahd Al-Qubaisi. The theme of the opening ceremony is "Coming Together for All Humanity, Transcending Differences through Humanity, Respect and Inclusion." "The seven-act program will be led by world-class talent who will blend Qatari heritage with global culture, and will include tributes to the 32 competing teams, previous FIFA World Cup hosts and event volunteers. Hundreds of performers will be joined by FIFA World Cup Ambassador Ghanim. Conversations on inclusion and diversity will be encouraged by Al Mufta and Qatari singer Dana," FIFA said.

Over the years, many greats; Eric Cantona, George Best and Garrincha to name a few; The number 7 jersey is worn in football. While each has left a mark, none are as synonymous with the iconic number as Cristiano Ronaldo. Doting fans commonly refer to the Portuguese superstar as CR7, who is no less than a global megabrand today. Interestingly, Cristiano Ronaldo also owns the CR7 trademark and runs a luxury menswear brand under the banner.

But how did Cristiano become associated with the number 7? Here is the full story.

In many cultures around the world, the number seven is considered lucky. Therefore, in many areas of life, including sports, any involvement with numbers is highly demanding. Often, the best or most talented players get their jersey numbers, which in time has had a cascading effect on the myth of the number 7 jersey. Seeing great players wear the number 7 on the field will only make the number more desirable for future generations.

What was Cristiano Ronaldo's first jersey number?

Cristiano Ronaldo's first jersey was number 28, given to him in 2002 after breaking into the Sporting Lisbon first team from the youth set-up. In fact, Ronaldo turned up for Sporting Lisbon in a pre-season friendly against Manchester United on 6 August 2003 wearing his jersey number 28. The friendly match was organized to mark the new opening of Estadio José Alvalade - Sporting. and current home ground. Ronaldo, then just 18 years old, tormented Manchester United's famous defense in this match. Such was the youngster's influence on the match that Man Utd players demanded that then United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and then chief executive David Gill bring Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford on the team bus.

A week later, Ronaldo became a Manchester United player.

As fate would have it, English superstar David Beckham, who held United's number seven jersey before Ronaldo, had left the club for Real Madrid earlier in the same summer transfer window. Manchester United's iconic number worn over the years by club legends such as Bryan Robson, George Best and Eric Cantona. The 7 jersey was vacant and Sir Alex Ferguson deemed Ronaldo worthy to take over the mantle. At first, Cristiano Ronaldo, still barely a teenager, was not sure if he was ready to take on such a huge responsibility. Taking over the shirt from Manchester's local boy and cult hero, Beckham, was a monumental task. But moved by Sir Alex's faith in him, Ronaldo took on the iconic number. Ronaldo made his Manchester United debut wearing the number seven jersey after coming on as a substitute against Bolton Wanderers in United's 2003–04 Premier League season opener at Old Trafford. The rest, as they say, is history. During his next six seasons in Manchester, Cristiano Ronaldo wore the number seven shirt, helping the Red Devils win the Premier League three times and the UEFA Champions League once. He also won the first of his five Ballon d'Ors in 2008. By the time Ronaldo moved to his boyhood dream club Real Madrid in 2009, he was one of the best players in the world. Despite his fame, Cristiano Ronaldo could not keep the number 7 jersey after his move to Real Madrid, which belonged to the original Madrid local boy and cult hero Raul Gonzalez at the Santiago Bernabeu.