Opening date of the Qatar 2022 World Cup moved one day earlier

The International Football Association (FIFA) announced that the date of the opening ceremony and the first matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will be moved to Sunday, November 20, instead of November 21, as was previously scheduled.

The announcement came after the unanimous decision of the Bureau of the FIFA Council, at its meeting today, to hold the opening match of the tournament between the host country and Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium at seven in the evening on Sunday, November 20, provided that only one match will be witnessed that day.

In light of the advance of the date of the opening ceremony and match; It was decided to change the timing of the kick-off for the Senegal-Netherlands match at Al Thumama Stadium on November 21st, to 7pm instead of 1pm.

The decision to bring forward the opening match date stems from FIFA’s endeavor to maintain the continuity of the tradition followed in previous versions of the World Cup, which requires the participation of the host country’s team or the defending champion in the first matches of the tournament, preceded by the opening ceremony of the World Cup, and the decision was taken after evaluating the effects of the operations for the tournament, and in consultation with its partners and the host country.

FIFA indicated that the period of clubs allowing their players to participate with their national teams will remain unchanged as previously decided, according to the relevant regulations, and starts from November 14.

On the other hand; Fans holding tickets will be notified of the rescheduling of the two matches by e-mail, and tickets will remain valid regardless of the new date/time, and FIFA will deal on a case-by-case basis with regard to any issues that may arise from such change. The schedule of matches for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, as well as the tournament regulations, have been amended in light of the decision of the Bureau of the FIFA Council.

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