Qatar 2022 gala opening preponed by a day

Article posted by Coliseum, August 15^th, 2022

Image: Qatar 2022

The FIFA World Cup 2022™ will kick off with an even greater celebration for local and international fans as host country Qatar will now play Ecuador on November 20^th at 19:00 as part of a standalone event.

‘Qatar 2022’ stated that the opening match and ceremony of this year’s tournament at the Al Bayt Stadium have been brought forward by one day following a unanimous decision taken by the Bureau of the FIFA Council on August 11^th. Consequently, the encounter between Senegal and the Netherlands has been rescheduled from 13:00 to 19:00 on November 21^st.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup™ is scheduled to be the 22^nd running of the FIFA World Cup™ competition, the quadrennial international men’s football championship contested by the senior national teams of the member – associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 20^th to December 18^th, 2022.

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The 60,000-capacity Al-Bayt Stadium is a retractable roof football stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, intended to be used in time for matches in the 2022 FIFA World Cup™, scheduled to kick off on November 20^th, 2022. The stadium’s construction contract was awarded to Webuild S.p.A. and Cimolai in 2015.

‘Qatar 2022’ further stated that the change ensures the continuity of a longstanding tradition of marking the start of the FIFA World Cup™ with an opening ceremony on the occasion of the first match featuring either the hosts or the defending champions. The decision followed an assessment of the competition and operational implications, as well as a thorough consultation process and an agreement with key stakeholders and the host country.

The release period, as previously decided and as governed by the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, will remain unchanged, beginning on November 14^th, 2022. Ticket holders will be duly notified by email that the relevant matches have been rescheduled and their tickets will remain valid irrespective of the new date/time. In addition, FIFA will seek to address any issues arising from this change in a case-by-case basis.

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ match schedule, as well as the competition regulations, has been amended accordingly.

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