Qatar presents its "Diamond in the Desert" stadium 2:14
(CNN) - In an unprecedented move, the FIFA World Cup will have four games per day during the group stage in Qatar 2022, the governing body of world football announced Wednesday.
At the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, the hosts will open the 32-team tournament at the Al Bayt Stadium with a capacity of 60,000 people on Monday, November 21, 2022 at 1pm local time.
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The matches during the group stages, which will take place from Monday, November 21, 2022 to Friday, December 2, 2022, will begin at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time. .
“In order for all the teams to have enough time to recover, the group stage will last twelve days; four games will be played a day, so the schedule promises to be most exciting, "said FIFA.
"The compact nature of the Qatari tournament - in which air travel will not be necessary - will allow organizers to optimize matches for the first time for the benefit of fans, teams and the media," FIFA said in a statement.
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Calendar for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. (Credit: FIFA)
The final will be played on Sunday December 18, 2022 at Lusail Stadium, which has a capacity of 80,000 people, and Al Bayt Stadium will host a semifinal.
FIFA has said that "the stadium and the schedule of the group stage matches for each of the days will be decided after the conclusion of the final draw, scheduled for after the qualifiers in March 2022."
"Once the matches are known, the possibility of assigning the best times depending on television audiences and also for fans traveling to Qatar, depending on the ideal stadium, will be considered," said FIFA.
World Cup 2022
