FIFA World Cup: What is new at the Qatar World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup set to take place in Qatar will kick off with a Group A clash between Qatar and Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium on November 20
Qatar will become the first middle eastern to hold a FIFA World Cup. The prestigious event will feature 32 teams clashing across 64 matches and is expected to attract 1.2 million spectators to Qatar.
Let's take a look at the other new things that will be making an appearance at the FIFA World Cup:
Substitutions: The number of substitutions in each match has increased from three in the previous World Cups to five. An additional substitution will also be allowed if a World Cup clash goes into the extra time.
The rule was introduced by the International Football Association Board in 2020 and has already been adopted by La Liga and Major League Soccer over the last two years.
Expanded squad lists: The 2018 World Cup in Russia allowed 23 players in the squad list of participating nations. However, the number has now been increased to 26. The number of players in the preliminary squad list has also increased from 35 to 55.
Female referees: The 2022 Football World Cup is set to become the first World Cup to have female referees. Stephanie Frappart of France, Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan and Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda have been included among the 36 referees for the tournament.
Offside technology: A semi-automated offside system will make quick and accurate offside calls at the World Cup. All eight host stadiums will be mounted with 12 cameras at the top to feed player data to the Video Assistant Referee system.
Under the new rule, the player will be considered offside if "any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents' half (excluding the halfway line) and any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent."
November kickoff: The previous World Cups have always kicked off during June and July. However, the 2022 FIFA World Cup is taking place in November and December due to the hot weather conditions in Qatar.
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