In keep with World Cup tradition, FIFA and the 6 member confederations have unanimously agreed to have the opening game on Sunday, November 20.

The game which was scheduled to be Senegal versus The Netherlands will still take place on the on Monday, November 21. The changes are in line with the long-standing tradition of opening matches involving hosts or reigning champions.

The World Cup opening event now a stand alone event, will be run before the opening game which is scheduled for 6PM Central African Time at the Al Bayt Stadium between the hosts, Qatar and Ecuador.

This will still be the shortest World Cup on record with the prime event running for 29 games. Normally, the World Cup would take 32 days.

In a statement FIFA also says, “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 14 November 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.”- Soccer24 Zimbabwe