What will the kick-off times be at the Qatar World Cup 2022?

Qatar World Cup 2022 kick-off times: Adidas match ball Al Rihla for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is pictured prior to kick off of the UEFA Nations League League A Group 3 match between Germany and Italy at Borussia Park Stadium on June 14, 2022 in Moenchengladbach, Germany.
(Image credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Kick-off times at the Qatar World Cup 2022 are scheduled four times during the day during the group stages, with European audiences prioritised.

The 2022 edition of the World Cup has a number of firsts – not least that it's the first edition of the competition to have been hosted in the Middle East. Because of this, the tournament is obviously taking place in the winter to avoid the baking hot summer that Qatar endures during the usual World Cup months of June and July, though there are other ways in which this will become a unique tournament. 

Given the small size of Qatar, there are only eight stadia hosting fixtures at the tournament – and due to this, plus the disruption of the domestic season – matches are going to be packed into a tight schedule between November and December…

What will the kick-off times be at the Qatar World Cup 2022?

All kick-off times for the World Cup 2022 will be between 10am and 7pm in the UK.

The first two rounds of group games will have kick-off times of 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm GMT. The final group stage games and all knockout games will have kick-offs of 3pm and 7pm.

From there, knockout round matches will be at 3pm and 7pm UK time.

World Cup 2022

(Image credit: Getty)

When will Qatar 2022 World Cup games kick off local time?

Here's what all the kick-off times look like depending on your time zone. 

10am GMT

Qatar: 1pm

CET: 11am

EST: 5am

PDT: 2am

1pm GMT

Qatar: 4pm

CET: 2pm

EST: 8am

PDT: 5am

3pm GMT

Qatar: 6pm

CET: 4pm

EST: 10am

PDT: 7am

4pm GMT

Qatar: 7pm

CET: 5pm

EST: 11am

PDT: 8am

7pm GMT

Qatar: 10pm

CET: 8pm

EST: 2pm

PDT: 11am

How many hours ahead is Qatar?

Qatar is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. 

Qatar World Cup 2022

(Image credit: Getty Images)

When will the 2022 World Cup kick off?

The 2022 World Cup kicks off in Qatar on November 20 at 7pm local time (4pm UK time), when the hosts take on Ecuador in the first game of the competition. 

How long will the World Cup games be?

Despite rumours that the 2022 World Cup could be the first to feature 100-minute matches – 10 minutes longer than a regular football game – FIFA have been quick to quash speculation. 

"Following some reports and rumours spread today, FIFA would like to clarify that there will be no changes to the rules regarding the length of football matches for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 or any other competition," a statement read on April 6 2022. 

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.