The 2022 Qatar World Cup is coming up later this year as the best nations in the world target a spot in the showpiece event.
With the 2020 European Championship having to be put back a year, the football calendar is more condensed than ever before.
And while the Euros took centre-stage last summer, fans won't have long to wait for the next major tournament to be upon us.
The 2022 World Cup will not take place this summer but rather at the end of the year.
It was rescheduled due to the hot weather in the host country of Qatar in the summer months.
The 2022/23 Premier League season will have to break over the winter to allow the tournament to go ahead and plans are in place to give players a week's rest either side of the World Cup.
With the World Cup qualifiers reaching their conclusion soon, here's everything we know so far about the tournament proper…
World Cup 2022: Dates
World Cup qualifying will conclude this month while a number of nations have already secured their spot at the competition.
The draw for the group stages of the World Cup is then due to take place on Friday, April 1.
The tournament will kick off on Monday, November 21 with holders Qatar playing in the first match at the 60,000 capacity Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.
The group stage will run until Friday, December 2 with the first of the knockout games starting the following day on Saturday, December 3.
The final will then be held at the 80,000-seater Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday, December 18.
World Cup 2022: How the tournament works
There will be 32 countries competing in the World Cup including holders Qatar who will be making their debut in the showpiece tournament.
Unlike at Euro 2020, the group stage will only see the top two teams progress from the eight groups.
The group winners and runners-up will enter the Round of 16 and the tournament will progress through the knockout stage before a champion is crowned in the final.
There will be a third-place play-off match which will be held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan on Saturday, December 17.
World Cup 2022: The venues
The tournament will be held in Qatar with the majority of games being held in the capital city of Doha.
The four stadia in the Doha area include the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, the Al Thumama Stadium, the Education City Stadium and the Khalifa International Stadium.
Four more venues will be used at the tournament with the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail and the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor being the largest.
The Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah will also be used.
The grounds will not be far apart from one another with the longest distance being around 65km from the Al Bayt Stadium to the Al Janoub Stadium.
World Cup 2022: The weather and kick-off times
The weather has been a hot topic ever since the World Cup was awarded to the Gulf nation of Qatar.
In November, the average temperature in Qatar is between 22C and 30C while in December is it between 17C and 25C.
In the summer months between May and August, the average temperature is around 37C.
The time in Qatar is three hours ahead of GMT.
The final will kick off at 6pm local time which will be 3pm for the UK audience.
Games will predominately start at 3pm or 7pm UK time but this will be confirmed at a later date.
World Cup 2022: Qualified teams
While the full list of 32 participants won't be confirmed until March, a number of nations have already secured their spot in Qatar.
- Qatar (Host)
- England
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Serbia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Iran
- South Korea
- Japan
- Saudi Arabia
- Ecuador
- Uruguay
- Canada