World Cup: All you need to know on the teams, fixtures and even the local laws of Qatar

The 2022 World Cup kicks off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20th, with the hosts facing Ecuador to get proceedings underway.

The tournament has been mired in controversy, with fears raised over player welfare, the safety of visiting fans, and allegations of corruption.

Here's everything you need to know about the tournament and the host country...

Qatar was chosen as the host for the 2022 World Cup back in 2010, seeing off similar bids from the US, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

The decision was widely criticised due to Qatar's poor human rights' record and unsuitability for a summer tournament, raising allegations of corruption within Fifa.

On the weather front, due to the extreme summer temperatures in Qatar, a decision was made to hold the tournament later in the year, making it the first ever World Cup to be held outside the normal June-August window.

The tournament's games will be played across eight stadia, six of which have a capacity of 40,000.

The opening ceremony and fixture (Qatar v Ecuador) will be held at Al Bayt Stadium, which has a capacity of 60,000, while Lusail Stadium will host the final, holding 80,000 fans.

Qatar is a small state on a peninsula in the Persian Gulf, bordered by Saudi Arabia. Doha is the capital city and accounts for the vast majority of the country's population.

At just over 11,500 square kilometres, the entire country is smaller than Northern Ireland.

Arabic is the official language, however English is widely spoken, and the country's currency is the Qatari riyal.

In terms of time difference, Qatar is three hours ahead of Ireland.

The games begin at 4pm Irish time on Sunday with Qatar v Ecuador, finishing with the final on Sunday, December 18th at 4pm Irish time.

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