World Cup fans will be able to watch four unprecedented matches per day, spread over 11 hours, on television during the group stage of the Qatar 2022 tournament after the schedule was confirmed on Wednesday.
With the relatively short travel distances for venues in and around Doha, it might be possible for fans traveling to the 32-team tournament to attend multiple games each day.
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The first games will start at 1pm local time with the fourth match starting at 10pm local time and ending just before midnight.
The opening match of the tournament, on November 21, will take place at the Al Bayt stadium with a capacity of 60,000 people, with its distinctive “tent” style.
The final on December 18 will take place at 80,000 Lusail Stadium, which, like Al Bayt, will also host a semifinal.
Nasser Al Khater, CEO of the Qatar World Cup organizing company, said plans for the tournament were well-planned with 90% of the work completed on roads and infrastructure.
“When it comes to stadiums, over 85% of the work has been completed and really now, in the last two years, we are focusing on preparing for our operations and making sure we have the fan experience plans,” said. .
“The World Cup is always a football festival, a true celebration for the fans who come to the venue and watch,” said chief tournament and event officer for FIFA Colin Smith. “In Qatar, with the compact nature, this will be further amplified with 32 teams and 32 fan groups in and around Doha.
“FIFA will wait until the tournament draw is held in March or April 2022 before assigning specific games to locations and time slots. This will allow them to better align games with time zones for the national television partners of competing teams. The tournament was moved from its usual venue from June to July due to the heat in the Gulf state and is the first to be held midway through the European season. “
The draw for the 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar will be delayed two months after FIFA rescheduled the qualifying playoffs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
FIFA said in June that its council agreed to delay an intercontinental jump-off of four teams from March 2022 to June of that year due to team congestion.
The draw for the 32-team tournament was planned for April 2022, probably in Doha. The first option now is to keep it in June before November 21 to December 21. 18 tournament.
FIFA has agreed on a $ 1.5 billion aid plan to help with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on global gaming.
FIFA’s plan means that it will use its reserves to provide national federations with a series of grants and interest-free loans to tackle budget problems.
Reuters information contributed to this report.
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