Four matches a day at Qatar's winter World Cup

LONDON • World Cup fans will be able to watch an unprecedented four games a day on TV, spread out over 11 hours, during the group stage of the Qatar 2022 tournament after the schedule was confirmed on Wednesday.

With the relatively short travel distances for the venues in and around Doha, it could be possible for fans who travel to the 32-team tournament to attend multiple games each day.

The early games will kick off at 1pm local time (6pm in Singapore) with the fourth match starting at 10pm (3am in Singapore).

The opening game will be held on Nov 21 at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium, with its distinctive "tent-style" covering. The final on Dec 18 will be at the 80,000-seater Lusail Stadium, which, like Al Bayt, will also host a semi-final.

"The World Cup is always a festival of football, a real celebration for the fans who come on site and watch," said Fifa chief tournaments and events officer, Colin Smith.

"In Qatar, with the compact nature, this is going to be amplified even more with 32 teams and 32 sets of supporters all in and around Doha."

Football's world governing body Fifa will wait until the draw for the tournament is held in March or April 2022 before assigning specific games to venues and also time slots.

That will enable it to better align games with time zones for domestic TV partners of the competing teams.

The quadrennial tournament was switched to the winter season from its usual June-July slot due to the scorching summer heat in the Middle East and this will be the first time it will be held in the middle of the European football campaign.

Nasser Al Khater, chief executive officer of the organising committee, said that plans for the tournament were well on schedule, with 90 per cent of the work finished on roads and infrastructure.

"When we talk about the stadiums, more than 85 per cent of the work has been completed and really now, the last two years, we're focusing on our operation readiness and making sure we get the fan experience plans in place," he said.

"The pandemic has affected everyone - and of course our project is not immune. However, preparations have continued and we have taken all the necessary health and safety measures."

REUTERS