FIFA Club World Cup 2020 match venues and schedule announced

Qatar will host the FIFA Club World Cup 2020 from 1 to 11 February 2021, after it was postponed earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Six continental confederations, as well as the host nation’s league champions, will compete in the tournament, which will be held across three FIFA World Cup 2022 stadiums namely Ahmad Bin Ali, Khalifa International and Education City.The Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium which was unveiled just last week on 18 December, will stage the opening match between Qatari champions Al Duhail and Auckland City of New Zealand on 1 February 2021 and the final will be played at Education City Stadium on 11 February 2021.The other participants are European champions and German side FC Bayern Mnchen, CONCACAF champions Tigres UANL from Mexico, Egyptian giants and African champions Al Ahly SC along with Asian Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea.Ulsan recently played a match in a FIFA World Cup 2022 venue Al Janoub Stadium where they clinched the AFC Champions League title.The winner of the CONMEBOL Libertadores will determine the South American representative, rounding off this editions participants.The South American title winner will be determined by the end of January 2021.The draw to finalise the detailed pairings in the tournament will take place in Zurich on 19 January 2021.Inaugurated exactly two years before Qatar hosts the FIFA World Cup final, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium has a capacity of 40,000 seats and is a demonstration of Qatars commitment to sustainability, having been largely constructedfrom recycled and reused material from an older stadium that once stood on the same site.Education City Stadium, nicknamed the Diamond in the Desert, has its design inspired by the rich history of Islamic architecture, blended with striking modernity.The faade features triangles that form complex, diamond-like geometrical patterns which appear to change colour depending on the sun’s position.The third stadium to be used during the FIFA Club World Cup will be Khalifa International Stadium.Widely regarded as Qatars national stadium, the recently refurbished venue hosted the previous tournaments final where English side Liverpool FC won the title for the first time in front of an audience of more than 45,000 fans.