FIFA confirms bringing forward the opening date of the World Cup by one day

The International Football Association (FIFA) confirmed Thursday that the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be moved forward by one day, and that the competitions will start on November 20 with the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador, after the official launch was scheduled for the 21st of it.

FIFA issued a statement saying, "The host country will play Qatar against Ecuador on November 20, which will be the only confrontation on the first day."

He added, "The opening match and the World Cup finals ceremony were presented at Al-Bayt Stadium, one day after a unanimous decision taken by the office of the FIFA Council."

This change maintains the tradition that one of the parties to the opening match is the host team or the defending champion The opening match between Qatar and Ecuador was supposed to take place on November 21, but it was not the first match that day.

The date of the Senegal-Netherlands match, originally scheduled for November 21 at one o'clock local time, was also changed to 19.00 local time on the same day.

"This decision was taken after assessing its implications for the competition and the practical aspect of the tournament, in addition to in-depth consultations and agreement with the main stakeholders and the host country," FIFA said.

The International Federation added, "Ticket owners will be notified via e-mail of these changes to the match schedule, and their tickets will remain valid regardless of the new date / time of the match. The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy confirmed in an official statement its support for the unanimous decision issued by the office of the International Federation Council, noting that it " We continue to work with FIFA to facilitate the task of fans who have been affected by the decision to advance the start of the tournament.” It is reported that no change will be made to the date of layoffs for players by their clubs (November 14, 2022. The final match will be held on December 18, 2022).

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