Fans face late kick-off times in 2014 World Cup

BRAZIL’S 2014 World Cup will see potential travel trauma for fans — and the latest kick-off times ever for a finals tournament, with matches starting as late as 10pm, or 2am in Ireland.

FIFA have performed a U-turn on promises to cluster teams in sectors to minimise travel distances. Instead, it was announced last night that teams will play each group match in a different city — some up to 2,000 miles apart.

The group stages will see matches kicking off at four different times — 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm, with the Irish equivalent time four hours later.