Qualifying games in Asia for the 2022 World Cup intensify in September with two war-affected nations unable to host home games, and with updated FIFA rules implemented to help protect players' health and ensure match highlights are seen more widely.
Yemen and Afghanistan will play their first"home" games in five-team qualifying groups in neutral countries forsecurity reasons.
FIFA said Friday that Yemen will host Saudi Arabia onSept. 10 in Bahrain's national stadium, and Afghanistan will face Bangladesh inTajikistan's capital Dushanbe.
Syria has its first "home" game in October,against Maldives, and will also host in a neutral country with the venue stillto be confirmed by FIFA.
The 40-team first Asian group stage will see regionalpowers Iran, Japan, South Korea and Australia kick off their bids to try toadvance to Qatar.
Action from all games — which will include the firstpreliminary round in Africa from Wednesday, among around 800 matches playedover 2½ years — should be seen by more fans globally.
FIFA has updated its 2022 tournament rulesfrom the 2018 edition, and now insists broadcast rights holders give soccer'sworld body "15 minutes of action footage per match."
"FIFA shall use this footage free of charge forpromotional purposes in the preliminary competition and in footballworldwide," the new rules state.
Seeking to safeguard players' health, Word Cup rulesnow demand stricter medical checks, including for potential heart issues,before a team's first qualifying game. The medical assessments were previouslyonly required before the 32-team finals tournament.
A concussion protocol for players sustaining headinjuries is also specified in more detail.
Stricter checks on players' nationality are now madebefore they can be named on a team sheet.
For the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, players could provide an identity card to prove who they were. For the 2018 edition, passports were needed.
Tightening the demand further, FIFA now insistsplayers produce a "valid permanent international passport" before thegame for official match delegates to inspect before being selected.
All 211 FIFA member federations are expected toformally enter this World Cup, though how they do so has changed.
Entries by fax and email, backed up by a letter bypost or courier, are no longer accepted. FIFA's rule book states that teamofficials must use a "dedicated extranet online registration."
In Asia, the eight five-team groups in the upcomingqualifying round will play from September through June.
Group winners and the four best runners-up advance to another group stage, played from September 2020 to October 2021. Those same 12 teams also qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup.
Four Asian teams will qualify directly for the32-team World Cup. A fifth nation can advance to Qatar in an intercontinentalplayoff round in March 2022.
