The World Cup finals in Qatar will start a day ahead of schedule if FIFA’s governing office agrees to a plan to hold the opening ceremony and the host nation’s first match on Sunday, November 20, Reuters reported, citing a source close to the discussions. .

The original plan was to hold the opening ceremony before Qatar’s match against Ecuador on November 21, creating the unusual situation of having two matches before the ceremony.

The ceremony is usually held before the start of the first match of the tournament.

Senegal v Netherlands (Group A) and England v Iran (Group B) were scheduled to take place before Monday’s ceremony.

The heads of six FIFA regional confederations and president Gianni Infantino must vote on the plan.

If the opening ceremony and match on November 20 are postponed, the Senegal-Netherlands match, scheduled for 13:00 local time on November 21, will start later that day. Group B matches will not be affected on this day.

Another source close to the proposal said the change could be confirmed as early as Thursday and that the plan was to ensure fans would not have to pay for changes to flights or accommodation.

“The financial implications for fans have been assessed and any additional costs for fans will be covered by the organizers, but it is unclear who will bear those costs, whether FIFA, the Qatar High Delivery and Legacy Committee or another body. Organizers will assure that any additional costs for fans who need to change their travel or accommodation bookings will not be borne by them and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis,” the source said.

It is unclear what the mechanism will be to pay any compensation to fans.