JAKARTA - The World Football Federation (FIFA) said the opening match of the Qatar 2022 World Cup would be held one day earlier. This was done in order to allow Qatar as the host country to start the tournament against Ecuador.
Football's most prestigious quadrennial tournament was originally scheduled to take place on Monday, November 21, with the inaugural match between African champions Senegal and the Netherlands in Group A.
However, FIFA then plans to change the agenda of the opening match by placing Qatar as the host against Ecuador. These two countries are also in Group A and the match will take place on Sunday 20 November.
Although the FIFA Council Bureau consisting of FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the leaders of each of the continental confederations has yet to confirm approval. This plan is considered to have been a mature decision. This means that the Qatar 2022 World Cup will be held from November 20 to the final on December 18.
The host countries have participated in the opening matches of the World Cup in the last four editions of the tournament. In the previous edition, the opening match did not feature the home team.
The last tournament where the hosts did not feature in their opening match was at the 2002 World Cup, when Senegal impressively defeated reigning champions France in the tournament's opening matches held in South Korea and Japan.
After that, the tradition of competition then changed. From what was previously opened by the team holding the competition, it became the home team that played in the opening match.
Although the opening match schedule is held one day early, England's fixture against Iran in Group B on November 21 will remain unchanged.
Previously, the general World Cup was held in the summer, but this year it will be held in November and December. This is because the weather in Qatar as the host will be very high and excessive during the summer.
The Qatar 2022 World Cup will also be the first to be held in the 92-year history of the World Cup because it will be staged in the middle of the European domestic season. The agenda will also ensure that the Premier League and other major leagues around the world will be suspended for six weeks after the opening of the new three-month season.
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