<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;">The 2022 FIFA World Cup is set to start in Qatar on Sunday, marking the 22nd edition of the global football tournament supervised by FIFA.</span></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The opening match of the championship in Qatar is scheduled to start tonight at 7pm (Doha time) (Dhaka time at 10pm) between Group A teams Qatar and the national squad of Ecuador. The match will be played at the 60,000-seat capacity Al-Bayt Stadium.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The world championship was initially scheduled to start on November 21 with a match between the national teams of The Netherlands and Senegal, which also play in Group A.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, FIFA Council's bureau announced a decision on August 11 to move the championship's opening game to November 20, stating that it respected the heritage of FIFA's traditions and each World Cup should start with an opening ceremony and inaugural match involving the host country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The Russian national football team is not taking part in the upcoming FIFA World Cup. It finished second in its group at the qualifying stage with 22 points after 10 matches, which saw the Russian squad proceeding to the playoffs, where they had another chance to qualify for the world's largest football tournament.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) announced on February 28 that the Russian national team and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from taking part in FIFA tournaments, including the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On April 1, a draw for the group stage of the World Cup was held, placing all participating teams into the following groups:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">   Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">   Group B: England, Iran, the United States, Wales</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">   Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">   Group D: France, Tunisia, Denmark, Australia</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">   Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">   Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">   Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">   Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The group stage matches are scheduled to run across numerous fields in Qatar between November 20 and December 2.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Qatar won the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup on December 2, 2010.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In March 2015, FIFA officially announced that the 22nd edition of FIFA's flagship event would be played in November and December of 2022, with the final match set for December 18, 2022, coinciding with - Qatar National Day. The objective, in principle, was to hold the tournament over 28 days.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Qatar is set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup between November 20 and December 18 at eight stadiums in five cities across the country. The eight stadiums at the issue are Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Stadium 974, Education City Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The FIFA World Cup is held every four years. The inaugural event was hosted by Uruguay in 1930. The national football team of Brazil has participated in all 22 editions of the FIFA World Cup beginning in 1930, winning five of them (in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The national teams of Germany and Italy are each four-time World Cup winners (Germany - in 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014; Italy - in 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The previous FIFA World Cup was hosted by Russia in 2018. The championship kicked off in Moscow with a remarkable opening show at Luzhniki Stadium on the evening of June 14, 2018 and ended on July 15 with a spectacular final match, also played at Luzhniki Stadium, where France defeated Croatia 4-2 to win the much-coveted World Cup Trophy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The championship took place at 12 stadiums in 11 cities across Russia, namely in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On July 15, 2018, during an official ceremony in the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin passed the baton of the FIFA World Cup's host country to Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in the presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. BSS/TASS</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">bnbd24/kh</div>