FIFA has confirmed that the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played on December 18, the country's national day.
FIFA spokesman Walter De Gregorio said on Thursday the announcement was a "major step" and said the executive committee of football's world governing body could confirm the start date on Friday.
"It is a major step because finally we know and we can move forward," De Gregorio said in a statement at FIFA headquarters.
"In principle we will try to play in 28 days. The next stage will be to have talks ... in particular related to the international match calendar."
FIFA's executive committee prefers a 28-day tournament, four days fewer than usual and starting on November 21, but did not make a decision in the opening session of its two-day meeting.
The November through to December option had been expected after being recommended by a FIFA-appointed task force which met last month in Doha, the Qatari capital.
The task force sought to take FIFA's lucrative event out of the Qatari summer heat in the June to July period when World Cups are traditionally played.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter then said he preferred a Sunday, December 18, final. Every World Cup final since 1966 has been played on a Sunday.
By rejecting UEFA's preferred December 23 final, a Friday, the FIFA executive committee helped protect the English Premier League's traditional December 26 program.
A 28-day World Cup would cut the time clubs must release players to national teams.
Both FIFA and Qatar have fought off questions of corruption ever since they were awarded the tournament back in 2010, with Qatar accusing its critics of a clear bias against the Gulf monarchy.
[agencies]
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