The Qatar World Cup is one of the most unique competitions in history. Not a lot is known about football in the country so let’s take a look at the stadiums.
What are the Qatar World Cup Stadiums called? The 8 Qatar World Cup stadiums are Lusail Iconic Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Stadium 974, Khalifa International Stadium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Education City Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium. These were all built specifically to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 2022 World Cup features eight stadiums all around Qatar, but the majority of them are in Doha. These eight will host on average eight games of the World Cup each.
List of 2022 Qatar World Cup Stadiums
- Lusail Iconic Stadium
- Al Bayt Stadium
- Al Thumama Stadium
- Stadium 974
- Khalifa International Stadium
- Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
- Education City Stadium
- Al Janoub Stadium
The stadiums are shown in close proximity, even within the small nation of Qatar by this image from The Times.
Lusail Iconic Stadium
The biggest of the stadiums at this world cup will be the Lusail iconic Stadium, which is located just north of Doha. In total, the stadium will have a capacity of 88,966 which is by far the most of the World Cup. The stadium took four years to be built and after the World Cup, it will be redeveloped.
After the World Cup, the capacity of the stadium will be reduced to 40,000. The additional seating that is being removed will be used to build a community space that includes shops, cafes, education facilities and a health clinic. Being the biggest stadium of the World Cup it will host the Final as well as one game of each of the knockout rounds.
At the time of writing the stadium has been the host for the most incredible game of the tournament, with the first World Cup game being hosted at Lusail being Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win over Argentina.
Al Bayt Stadium
The second biggest stadium at the tournament is the Al Bayt stadium and it is one featuring some of the newest technology. The stadium features a retractable roof that should aid the cooling of pitch temperatures. It is the stadium located the furthest away from Doha, being built 50km north of the city.
Designed by Dar Al-Handasah, it will host one round of the Round of 16, Quarter-final and Semi-final. Much like the Lusail Iconic Stadium, it will be reconfigured after the World Cup and the capacity will be dropped from 68895 down to 32,000. The area around the stadium will also be used for a five-star hotel, shopping mall and another sports facility.
Khalifa International Stadium
Also known as the National Stadium, the Khalifa International Stadium is one of the ones built in the suburbs of Doha and is one of the oldest stadiums in the country. It was actually opened all the way back in 1976, so it is one of the few not originally built for the World Cup.
But the stadium has undergone massive redevelopment in the preparation for the World Cup. This took place from 2014 to 2017. The stadium is a multi-use stadium, having been the site of the 2019 World Athletics Championships. The current capacity of the stadium is 45,857. It will host five group games, one of the Round of 16 games and the Third Place play-off.
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
Also known as the Al-Rayyan Stadium, this is another of the World Cup stadiums that is a multi-function. It was first built in 2003, however, this is now considered the old stadium because it was demolished in 2015 to make room for the new stadium which was being built for the World Cup.
Part of that multi-use function is being home to Al-Rayyan Sports Club which has a football team. The stadium is going to host five group games as well as one of the Round of 16 games, which will be the match between Argentina and Australia. It currently can hold 45,032 people, which will be reduced to just 21,000 after the World Cup.
Education City Stadium
The Education City Stadium was one of the ones built specifically for the World Cup, having first been opened in June of 2020. The 44,667-seater stadium first hosted games in the FIFA Arab Cup, hosting the Quarter-final that saw Tunisia beat Oman 2-1.
In this World Cup, they will host six group games as well as one Round of 16 tie and one Quarter-final tie. The main use of the stadium after the World Cup will not be football, instead being used by university athletic teams.
Al Thumama Stadium
Another of the stadiums built purposefully for the World Cup, this 44,400-seater stadium was first opened in 2017. The stadium was designed by Ibrahim M. Jaidah of the Arab Engineering Bureau. The stadium is purposefully located near to the Hamad International Airport.
Currently holding 44,400 seats, the stadium capacity will be reduced to 22,200 after the World Cup. The seats that have been removed will be donated to other countries. The Al Thumama Stadium started off by hosting a 2021 FIFA Arab Cup game and will host six group stage games as well as one Round of 16 tie and a Quarter-final game.
Al Janoub Stadium
Another of the retractable roof stadiums built for this World Cup, it was designed by Zaha Hadid and features a very postmodern design. It is also one of the stadiums that features a cooling system, designed to make the playing conditions not quite as hot for the players. It is able to make the field of play around 20 degrees Celsius.
It is the second smallest stadium in the Qatar World Cup, holding 44,325 fans when at full capacity. The stadium will host six Group stage games as well as one Round of 16 tie which is going to be between Japan and Croatia.
Stadium 974
The smallest stadium in the competition, it is also the one with the most interesting story. The reason the stadium is called Stadium 974 is that it is made up of 974 recycled shipping containers and it is a homage to the international dialling code for Qatar which is +974.
It is the world’s first temporary World Cup stadium, having been designed to be fully dismantled and reassembled elsewhere after the World Cup. The stadium will host six group games as well as one Round of 16 game.