By the start of FIFA World Cup Qatar enlarged with big new stadiums.

Though after the tournament most of them will be diminished by half.

Lusail Iconic Stadium

The stadium in the city Lusail, with the capacity of 80,000 people is the main arena of the World Cup. 10 matches of the Mondial, including the final will take place here. The stadium is designed by the architectural bureau of the British architect Norman Foster. (Four oval skyscrapers “Lusail Towers” are also erected on his design project.) As well as most of the other stadiums, the arena will be completely or partially dismantled after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Next year “Lusail Iconic Stadium” will host 40,000 viewers.

Al Bayt Stadium

The tournament’s opening match with the participation of host team Qatar — Ecuador took place at this stadium in Al-Khor. 60,000 fans were able to watch it live. “Al Bayt Stadium” was designed by the international company Dar Al-Handasah, based in Beirut. At a glance it is obvious that the architects were inspired by the Arabic douars. Moreover, not the usual but the luxury ones, as Arabs like it. To perceive it, you should ascend to VIP boxes or go out to the balcony of a hotel suite overlooking the football field. The hotel is situated in the very building of the arena. After the tournament the capacity of the stadium will be 32,000 people.

Ahmed bin Ali Stadium

The Arena in Al Rayyan was named after Qatar’s Emir Ahmed bin Ali, the ruler of the country in 1960–1972, the design of the stadium was developed by the company Pattern Design. It is the only stadium of the country built in place of the already existing arena. It was constructed quite recently, in 2003, but because of low capacity did not meet the requirements of FIFA. As a consequence, the old stadium was demolished to the ground and the new one was erected. As all the other arenas it will have air conditioning. Now the capacity of the Arena is 44,740 viewers, after the tournament it will be reduced to only 21,000.

Al Janoub Stadium

At a glance it is obvious that the stadium (with the capacity of 40,000 people) was designed by a woman. Zaha Hadid, a British-Iraqi architect, was inspired by the sails of Arab boats. Actually, the city Al Wakrah used to be a fishing area, and only when the oil deposits were discovered, fishing for the locals was no longer a necessity. Unfortunately, the stadium project became one of the last in the life of Hadid.

Al Thumama Stadium

The chief designer of the Arab Engineering Bureau Ibrahim Jaidah in his project of the stadium used the image of taqiyah, a lace Arab cap, usually worn by men in the Middle East. After the championship the capacity of the stadium (40,000 people) will be reduced to half, and the spare area will house a hotel and center of sport medicine.

Khalifa International Stadium

It is the only stadium of the 2022 FIFA World Cup which was not built anew; it just underwent reconstruction. This arena in Doha was named after the Emir of Qatar. But in contrast to Ahmed, Khalifa ruled the country too long (from 1972 to 1995) and was abdicated by his son, frustrated by his longish status of a prince. After the reconstruction the stadium reopened in 2017, and in 2019 hosted the World Athletics Championship. Eight matches, including the one for the bronze medal, will be played here during the Mondial.

Photo: press-office