World Cup 2022, early start to November 20: FIFA accepts Qatar’s request

Change of program ai World Cup in Qatar of next November-December. The FIFA Presidency Committee unanimously welcomed, also with the contribution of the presidents concerned (Alejandro Dominguez for Conmebol, of which Ecuador is a member, and Aleksander Ceferin for Uefa, to which the Netherlands adheres), the request of the organizers to bring forward the start of the tournament by one day, replacing the opening match. The kick-off will not be given on November 21, with the match between Senegal and the Netherlands, but on the 20th, with the challenge between the hosts of the Qatar against theEcuador.

The opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2022 World Cup will also be brought forward. The change guarantees the continuity of a long tradition that foresees the opening of the tournament by the national team of the host country or the one that holds the trophy (in this case France). Ticket holders – Fifa informs – will be duly informed by e-mail that the related matches have been rescheduled and their tickets remain valid, regardless of the new date and time of the match. Furthermore, FIFA will try to “address any problems arising from this change and will do so on a case-by-case basis”.

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The decision

All Bureau members accepted the decision, none objected. I therefore included the president of Conmebol, Alejandro Dominguezand the president of UEFA, Alexander Ceferin. Qatar2022 will be long 29 days, three days shorter than the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The proposal was submitted less than 100 days before the tournament. L’When and the Senegal they were supposed to play the opening match of the tournament at 12 noon on November 21, now postponed to 19.00. England will also face Iran on November 21 and Wales the United States. This decision is unlikely to affect players’ summons.

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