World-football governing body, FIFA has announced that four matches will be played each day during the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Group stage matches will be played over a 12-day period but games have yet to be assigned to particular venues. This will only be done after the finals draw in March 2022 in order to choose optimal kick-off times to suit television audiences in different countries as well as supporters out in Qatar, FIFA said.
Kick-off times for the first two rounds of matches will be 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm local time.
It has also been announced that the stadiums where games are to be played will be within a 40-mile radius of each other. This is to it enable supporters and media to realistically attend two games on the same day.
Kick-off times in the final round of group games and knock-out round matches will be at 6pm and 10pm local time and for all but three games there will be a three-day rest period in between.
The tournament’s opening match will be played at the Al Bayt stadium in Al Khor on Monday, November 21 in a match which will feature the host country.
The 2022 final venue is the Lusail Stadium in Doha, with the showpiece game to be played on Sunday, December 18. Kick-off will be at 6 pm local time. The announcement comes two years to the day after the 2018 World Cup final.
