Why is there so much added time at the World Cup?

Since the 2022 World Cup kicked off on November 20 in Qatar, football fans have noticed a lot more time has been added to matches.

In a typical game, most of us expect a few minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first and second halves if there have been any injuries (this is typically anywhere from 2-4 minutes).

Somehow, double-digit extra time has become a common occurrence during the World Cup - with 10 minutes added on to Qatar and Ecuador (0-2) game in the opening match of the tournament.

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Stoppage time was even longer for the England v Iran (6-2) game after 29 minutes was added due to goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and defender Harry Maguire getting injured, along with a lengthy VAR check.

Senegal and the Netherlands (0-2) had 14 minutes of play added on in their match, while the USA and Wales were also on longer when 16 minutes were added to their game last night.

Harry Maguire of England leaves the pitch with an injury during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between England and IR Iran at Khalifa International Stadium on November 21, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

But the question is... why has there been so much stoppage time so far at the World Cup?

Pierluigi Collina, a former Italian referee and current chairman of FIFA’s referee's committee gave some insight and warned ahead of the tournament that footy fans should expect more time added to matches.

"We told everybody to not be surprised if they see the fourth official raising the electronic board with a big number on it, six, seven or eight minutes," he told ESPN.

"If you want more active time, we need to be ready to see this kind of additional time given.

“Think of a match with three goals scored. A celebration normally takes one, one and a half minutes, so with three goals scored, you lose five or six minutes.

“What we want to do is accurately calculate the added time at the end of each half," Collina added.

"It can be the fourth official to do that, we were successful in Russia [2018] and we expect the same in Qatar.

“I am not talking about VAR intervention, this is something which is different and calculated by the Video Assistant Referee in a very precise way."

Looks like the longer nailbiting games are set to continue in this winter tournament.

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