For the first time ever, a Wimbledon men’s final and the final of a football World Cup could take place at the same time next year. The All England Club is not prepared to break with old traditions and is sticking to the start of the final.
“As usual, the men’s final is scheduled for two o’ clock in the afternoon (local time, 3:00 p. m. Central European time, note),”a spokesman for the club told the Times. Sunday, the 15th. However, the Lushniki Olympic Stadium in Moscow also hosts the World Cup final.
The kick-off is scheduled for 5 p. m., only two hours behind the official start time of the Grand Slam final, which will undoubtedly be delayed by arrivals and warm-up phases.
The two major events took place twice on the same day, but both in 1990 and at the World Cup 2006 in Germany, the tennis finals were over long before the World Cup was played.
According to data from the Times, there have only been two matches in the last 20 men’s finals, which ended in less than an hour and 50 minutes. This last happened this year, when Roger Federer needed only one hour and 41 minutes for his triumph.
If the English Three Lions make it to the World Cup Final, viewers will not notice anything about the match at the All England Club facility: The organisers have not allowed TV broadcasts on the video screens since 1996.