New World Cup 2022 start date: Qatar vs Ecuador, opening ceremony moved but USA, England schedule unaffected
Around three months before the 2022 World Cup kicks off, the world’s largest sporting event has a new start date.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup schedule was pushed back in April as the groups were set. But it raised eyebrows when there was no traditional opening game with hosts Qatar. Instead, Qatar played the second of four games behind Senegal against the Netherlands on opening day on Monday 21 November.
That has now been fixed.
The hosts have played in the opening match of every World Cup since 2006, replacing the previous tradition of the defending champions playing in the opening match.
FIFA announced the schedule change on August 11, moving Qatar’s tournament opening one day earlier to Sunday November 20. In this way, Qatar v Ecuador will now be the opening game in its own right, accompanied by the pomp and circumstance of a formal opening ceremony.
The change effectively postpones the start of the tournament by one day and changes the kick-off time of the other Group A game between Senegal and the Netherlands, which is rescheduled to a later date on November 21.
According to reports, FIFA received a letter from the organizers of the 2022 World Cup asking for the schedule to be changed, which then had to be approved by a board of directors at FIFA, including President Gianni Infantino and the heads of all six FIFA confederations. This permission has been granted.
MORE: Full 2022 World Cup calendar with dates, times and stadiums
When does the World Cup start?
The revised schedule, announced in mid-August, sees the tournament being played openly on Sunday 20th November instead of Monday 21st November.
“The opening match and ceremony of this year’s tournament at Al Bayt Stadium has been brought forward by one day today, following a unanimous decision by the FIFA Council Presidency,” FIFA said in its official announcement of the schedule change.
The changes affected all four Group A teams. The date of the Qatar v Ecuador match was postponed, as was the kick-off time for the other Group A match between Senegal and the Netherlands.
The opening ceremonies have also been brought forward a day and will take place on November 20 ahead of the Qatar-Ecuador game.
New revised World Cup opening schedule
| date | Fit | time BST/ET |
Stadion |
| Sun, Nov 20 | Group A: Qatar – Ecuador | 16:00 / 11:00 | Al Bayt |
| Mon, Nov 21 | Group B: England vs. Iran | 13:00 / 08:00 | Khalifa Int’l |
| Mon, Nov 21 | Group A: Senegal vs. Netherlands | 16:00 / 11:00 | Al Thumama |
| Mon, Nov 21 | Group B: USA vs Wales | 19:00 / 14:00 | Ahmad bin Ali |
Previous World Cup opening schedule
| date | Fit | time BST/ET |
Stadion |
| Mon, Nov 21 | Group A: Senegal vs. Netherlands | 10:00 / 05:00 | Al Thumama |
| Mon, Nov 21 | Group B: England vs. Iran | 13:00 / 08:00 | Khalifa Int’l |
| Mon, Nov 21 | Group A: Qatar – Ecuador | 16:00 / 11:00 | Al Bayt |
| Mon, Nov 21 | Group B: USA vs Wales | 19:00 / 14:00 | Ahmad bin Ali |
How will the World Cup schedule change affect England and the USA?
The fixture change has not directly impacted the US national team or England as their opening games remain scheduled for their original kick-off times.
The only game affected outside of Qatar’s opening game was the other Group A game on November 21 between Senegal and the Netherlands. Instead of occupying an early window, it moves into the window opened up by the Qatar v Ecuador game.
However, there will likely be ticketing issues stemming from the schedule changes affecting USMNT and Wales fans with tickets to see their teams in person at the World Cup.
Fans are not allowed to buy tickets for matches in back-to-back time slots as it would be physically impossible to attend both matches. This measure has been in effect since the start of World Cup ticket sales.
As the time for the Senegal-Netherlands game has been moved to the time slot immediately prior to the USA-Wales game, fans who have already purchased tickets for both games will be negatively impacted.
This fan quoted by Tariq Panja of The New York Times has tickets for both matches as the original schedule called for seven hours between the end of the Senegal v Netherlands game and the start of the USA v Wales game. That gap has been reduced to just one hour given the changes they schedule as back-to-back games.
FIFA’s late plan is already causing chaos for some fans who bought tickets. Martin here has tickets for Ned-Senegal and USA-Wales. He cannot now participate in both. https://t.co/fMwn60LLaZ https://t.co/jCNUJLcYXJ pic.twitter.com/yBgsO80v9S
— tariqpanja (@tariqpanja) August 10, 2022
FIFA vaguely acknowledged this issue in the official release of the news, but gave no details on how the situation would be resolved.
“Ticket holders will be duly informed by email that the relevant matches have been postponed and their tickets will remain valid regardless of the new date/time,” FIFA said. “In addition, FIFA will try to resolve any issues arising from this change on a case-by-case basis.”
MORE: Full fixture list, schedule and preview for World Cup Group A | Group B
Other implications of changing the World Cup schedule
The new changes to the World Cup schedule also create a slightly tighter deadline for players from Qatar and Ecuador to report to their national teams on Monday 14 November. The proposed move from November 21 to November 20 allows for one day less preparation.
This will affect players like Ecuadorian striker Enner Valencia, whose last club game with Fenerbahce before the World Cup is scheduled for November 13. This leaves only seven days between his last club game and his first World Cup game in Qatar.
Other Ecuadorians playing in Europe whose preparation for the tournament will be affected include Moises Caciedo (Brighton), Carlos Gruezo (Augsburg) and Pervis Estupinan (Villarreal).
The host country is likely to be less affected by the change as the Qatar national team is made up almost entirely of domestically based players from the local Qatar Stars League, which is likely to be flexible in changing the league schedule to support national team travel and training. So far only seven of the 22 game days of the Star League have been scheduled.
Why did FIFA change the start of the World Cup?
According to an Aug. 10 report by Tariq Panja of The New York Times, the move was proposed to see Qatar continue the tradition of the host country opening the World Cup.
The report contained part of the letter sent to FIFA, which was made available to the New York Times.
“It is a long-standing tradition to mark the start of the FIFA World Cup with an opening ceremony to mark the first match of either the hosts or the defending champions,” the letter reads, “a factor that is seen as having significant value from a ceremonial, cultural and commercial point of view.”
FIFA’s official release reflected this sentiment. “The move ensures the continuation of a longstanding tradition of marking the start of the FIFA World Cup with an opening ceremony to mark the first match with either the hosts or the holders,” said FIFA. “The decision followed a competitive and operational impact assessment, as well as a thorough process of consultation and agreement with key stakeholders and the host country.”
It’s still unclear why Qatar shouldn’t appear in a standalone opening game of the World Cup at all.