Hublot, the luxury Swiss watch company, has announced the unveiling of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Countdown Clock.

The one-year countdown for the World Cup, which will begin on November 21, 2022, started with a kickoff from French FIFA World Cup winner and Hublot Friend of the Brand, the legendary Marcel Desailly, who was joined on stage by Coach Sami Trabelsi and local ambassador Adel Khamis.

The clock, which forms part of a striking sculpture that stands 5.75 m high, will stand on the Qatar capital Doha's Corniche Fishing Spot, a beautiful pier overlooking the shimmering waters of the Persian Gulf.

"Exactly one year to go! The world will be brought together during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in a festival of football like never before. Once again, Hublot is so proud and so excited to be the tournament's Official Timekeeper and to be timing every match, right through to the final on December 18, 2022. This will be the fourth time we've performed the role, a great honour that will put Hublot on television screens in living rooms all over the world. Football, or soccer as it's known in the US, is such a beautiful, intricate game that brings pleasure – and sometimes pain! – to billions of people around the globe. The discipline of mechanical watchmaking is a perfect fit. The best teams run like clockwork! Hublot loves football!" Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot CEO.

Hublot became the first luxury company to enter football in 2006. It first timed the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010, a role it reprised four years later in Brazil and then again in Russia in 2018.

The company is now the first name in football timekeeping, with partnerships and timekeeping responsibilities for the UEFA European Championships (known as the Euros), the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League.

It's also the Official Watch of some of the world's most prestigious football clubs, including Juventus, Chelsea, AFC Ajax and Benfica, and is proud to count a number of the game's most celebrated individuals as Ambassadors, including Pelé, José Mourinho, Didier Deschamps and superstar French striker Kylian Mbappé.

Founded in Switzerland in 1980, Hublot is defined by its innovation, which began with the highly original combination of gold and rubber. This "Art of Fusion" stems from the imagination of its visionary Chairman Jean-Claude Biver and has been driven forward by CEO Ricardo Guadalupe since 2012.

The release of the iconic, multi-award-winning Big Bang in 2005 paved the way for new flagship collections (Classic Fusion, Spirit of Big Bang), with complications ranging from the simple to the highly sophisticated, establishing the extraordinary DNA of the Swiss watchmaking house and ensuring its impressive growth.

Keen to preserve its traditional and cutting-edge expertise, and guided by its philosophy to "Be First, Different and Unique", the Swiss watchmaker is consistently ahead of the curve, through its innovations in materials (scratch-resistant Magic Gold, ceramics in vibrant colours, sapphire), and the creation of Manufacture movements (Unico, Meca-10, Tourbillon).