FIFA confirm the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will start one day earlier than originally planned, with Qatar hosting Ecuador on Sunday November 20.
The tournament was originally meant to kick off on Monday November 21 with Senegal against the Netherlands, with the Qatar match later that evening.
However, it was announced today that FIFA had submitted and agreed a proposal to move the Qatar match forward by a day, following talks between Qatar, Ecuador and the South American confederation (CONMEBOL).
The kick-off will be at 15.00 GMT (16.00 BST).
This means that the official merchandise marking the start date of the 2022 World Cup is now out of date.
Also, it will not change the release dates that clubs are obliged to stick to for players, giving Ecuador and Qatar one less day to prepare for the tournament.
This is already the first World Cup to be played in November and December, as the original plan for the summer of 2022 was considered impractical in the blazing heat of Qatar.
Oh my lord the worst run World Cup in our lifetimes why did they ever give them a World Cup. I think I speak for a lot of us on Football Italia when I say I can’t wait for the next world cup when it will be mainly in the US and Canada/Mexico I think that should be quite a spectacle hopefully Italia will be back after a long absence and it will be quite a show. This World Cup will be a disaster. Such a shame.
Why all the opposition to qatar hosting the world cup? Every country has the right to host if they can have the venues and provide a good support and system..