WATCH: The moment eight years ago when Qatar made World Cup history

It was exactly eight years ago today that an event, which is likely going to change Qatar’s history forever, happened.

The venue was the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA President Sepp Blatter rose to his feet, took out a white cover, pulled out a white piece of paper, and in slow, measured tones, declared Qatar as the hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

It was a defining TV moment when members of Qatar’s royal family hugged each other in happiness. Thousands of miles away, a country collectively erupted in joy.

And since then, Qatar has come a long way in preparing for the Middle East’s first World Cup. Despite a lot of obstacles on its path, the country has continued to march on undeterred.

So how did the bidding and voting procedure go? Here is a little recap. Bidding procedures for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups began simultaneously, in January 2009.

After some countries put their names forward and then withdrew from the 2022 race, five remained — Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea and the USA.

The 22-member FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zurich on December 2, 2010.

Australia got eliminated in the first round with just one vote, followed by Japan (two votes) in the second round. South Korea got eliminated in the third round of voting with five votes.

It led to the final fight between Qatar and the USA, which Qatar won 14 votes to eight. And that’s how history came to be made!