The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will start on Monday, November 21, kicking off a 28-day tournament that will finish on Sunday, December 18.
FIFA's executive committee confirmed the 2022 dates on Friday, six months after picking December 18 - Qatar's national holiday - for the final.
In March, FIFA finally decided to switch the 2022 tournament from June-July to avoid Qatar's summer heat.
A 28-day World Cup is four fewer than usual and is designed to cause less disruption to clubs and leagues which must shut down for several peak mid-season weeks.
FIFA had delayed choosing a kick-off date in Qatar while it held talks on the 2019-2024 schedule of national team fixtures.
The international calendar mandates when clubs must release players for national-team duty.
The calendar approval means clubs must release players to the 32 World Cup teams by Monday, November 14, 2022 - one week before the opening match.
No national team match dates - either qualifiers for continental championships or friendlies - have been set for October 2022.
Instead, the two fixtures typically scheduled in October will be moved forward four months.
That creates a four-match program for national teams, scheduled between May 30 and June 14, 2022 at the end of the European season.
