ZURICH, Jan 19 — FIFA announced an amendment of the schedule for the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 matches after New Zealand club Auckland City FC confirmed their withdrawal from the tournament in light of the quarantine measures required by the New Zealand authorities related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement released on Monday, FIFA confirmed that the current format of the competition will remain unchanged, with the opening match forfeited, which was scheduled for Feb 1 between Auckland City FC and Al-Duhail SC, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
It said the tournament will now be staged at Education City and Ahmad Bin Ali Stadiums, while Khalifa International Stadium, which was originally due to host two games, will not be used.
It added that the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium will stage the first match on Feb 4 at 5pm Doha time and the FIFA Club World Cup champions will be crowned at Education City Stadium on Feb 11m at 9 pm Doha time.
The tournament will be contested by Al-Duhail SC, Al Ahly SC, FC Bayern Munich, Ulsan Hyundai FC, Tigres UANL and the winners of the CONMEBOL Libertadores final scheduled for Jan 30.
Following the withdrawal of Auckland City, Al-Duhail SC, will move directly to the second round.
The draw to finalize the pairings will take place in Zurich on Jan 19 at 6 pm Doha time.
Source: BERNAMA