China News Service, Beijing, August 11. Doha news: According to a report by Al Jazeera on the 10th, according to a proposal, the Qatar World Cup may start a day earlier than scheduled, and the opening ceremony and Qatar-Ecuador match may be played on November 20.
According to the report, in the current schedule announced after the draw on April 1, the Netherlands and Senegal will play the World Cup opener at 13:00 local time (18:00 Beijing time) on November 21st, and the host Qatar will be at 19:00 on the same day. (Beijing time at 0:00 on the 22nd) against Ecuador, this is the third game on the opening day.
But the report pointed out that since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the hosts have played in the opener.
The New York Times also pointed out in a report on the 10th that it is not clear why the organizers and FIFA did not initially plan to let Qatar participate in the opener, after all, this is the stage reserved for every host since the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Al Jazeera said Qatari officials and South American football agency CONMEBOL had now agreed on a proposal to create a 29-day competition instead of 28, and the Qatar and Ecuadorian football associations were also involved in talks.
The move is likely to be approved by the FIFA Council before the 100-day countdown begins this week, the report said.
If the proposal is approved, the Netherlands-Senegal game will be played the night after the opening ceremony.
In order to avoid the hot summer in Qatar, FIFA finalized in 2015 that the 2022 Qatar World Cup will be held in November and December, which is also the first time in the 92-year history of the event. The previous 21 World Cups were held in late May. between the end of July.
In addition, the final of the 2022 Qatar World Cup is scheduled for December 18, which is Qatar National Day.
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