World Cup start date to be change by FIFA.The start date of the 2022 FIFA World Cup is said to set to be moved forward by just one day.
This arrangement is to enable hosts Qatar to be involved in the first match.
The tournament had originally been scheduled to get underway on 21st November with famous African champions Senegal taking on The ever powerful Netherlands in Group A. This may not be the case now as FIFA plans moving host nation Qatar’s opening clash against Ecuador forward to Sunday 20 November as the curtain-raiser.
The decision is yet to be confirmed as approval is being sought from the Bureau of the FIFA Council. The FIFA council is made of its President and leaders of the continental confederations.
It is said that this approval is a mere formality as the tournament is due to start on the 20th of November,2022 instead of the 21st November,2022. However the tournament is still billed to end on 18th December with the final.
It has always been the case that the host team will participated in the opening game and this has been the norm for the four last editions of the world football gathering.
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Germany beat Costa Rica when they hosted and South African were held to a 1-1 draw against Mexico.
Brazil won over Croatia when they played as host and Russia also won over Saudi Arabia when they hosted four years ago.
However there are instances when the host did not begin the tournament. It was in 2002 when Senegal defeated France who were champions at the time. It was South Korea who was the host and they did not play in the opening game.
Since then the norm has been that the host country play in the opening game. This now means that England’s schedule match against Iran on 21st November is also going to change or the time will vary. It is likely that game may not be on the opening day of the tournament.
Qatar are now likely to kick-off the FIFA World Cup against Ecuador on 20 November.
It is the first time in the history of the 92 year old World Cup that the competition is “being staged in the middle of the European domestic season and ensures that the Premier League – alongside other major leagues across the globe – are being paused for six weeks after the opening three months of the campaign.”
This will also be the second world Cup to be held in Asia after the 2022 edition that was held in South Korea and Japan. It is also the first time that the tournament will play host to 48 teams instead of the usual 32 teams.
It is expected that the knockout stages will in the round of 16.
