Qatar World Cup set to be earlier than planned with FIFA expected to move start date forward

The change is set to be made so that the host nation can play in the opening game, as is tradition.

FIFA originally planned for World Cup to start on Monday, November 21, with Senegal playing against the Netherlands in the opening match of the tournament.

Qatar were scheduled to play their first game against Ecuador that same day but in the evening, after England had faced Iran.

But FIFA are now planning to move Qatar's opening game to Sunday, November 20 following pleas from the host nation to play in the tournament curtain-raiser.

The match will now kick off a day earlier at 7pm (4pm GMT) at the Al Bayt Stadium.

The change will not affect England's opening game of the tournament, with the Three Lions taking on Iran at 4pm (1pm GMT) the following day as originally planned.

The only other fixture amended is the game between Senegal and the Netherlands, which will now take the 7pm (4pm GMT) slot on the Monday vacated by Qatar and Ecuador.

The decision to change the start date still needs to be given final approval by the Bureau of the FIFA Council, which includes FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

"The FIFA administration has assessed the commercial and legal implications of the proposal — including the impact on contractual commitments across media rights, sponsorship, and ticketing and hospitality — as well as the impact on traveling fans, and has determined that any risk is sufficiently outweighed by the value and benefits of the proposals."

Qatar had initially turned down the opportunity to play in the opening game of the tournament, which would have taken place at 1pm local time in Qatar on Monday, November 21.

It is claimed that he feared that the spectacle would be dampened if Qatar was playing during the day rather than the evening.

However, Qatar are now keen to maintain the tradition of the host nation taking part in the tournament opener.