Doha: The entire world has been eyeing the biggest sporting event on this planet, the FIFA World Cup 2022, which will get underway in Qatar in November. The Olympic Games are multiple sporting events, so it is considered the largest sporting festival in the world.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will kick off with a match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador on November 20. The organisers had planned for the opening ceremony to be held before Qatar’s first game on November 21. But the programme was changed after marathon discussion due to tight schedules.
In normal conditions, the opening ceremony takes place before the kickoff of the opening game of the tournament.
The first match will be played at Al Bayt Stadium, where 60,000 people can occupy seats and enjoy the match.
In fact, the match between Senegal and the Netherlands, originally scheduled to be the first encounter of the tournament, was pushed back by six hours from 1300 local time on Nov. 21.
The schedule was changed by a FIFA committee comprising six regional confederations and president Gianni Infantino.
In the end, the decision was implemented through consultation among the bosses of FIFA and an agreement with key stakeholders and the host country.
Wasim Haque
