Football stadiums in Qatar will ‘disappear’ after world cup

The world’s first stadium that can be moved and transported to play in another nation is Stadium 974 in Qatar. It was constructed using 974 recycled shipping containers. It is the only world cup stadium in Qatar that doesn’t have air conditioning. The international dialling number for Qatar is also the name of the stadium, 974.

The Asian Games, a multi-sport competition with more competitors competing than the Olympics, need venues to be held in Qatar in 2030. Then there is the major Olympic prize that Qatar is vying for: hosting the Summer Games as early as 2036.

Qatar’s football stadiums are expensive, but it’s not clear how much. It is estimated that about $200 billion was spent overall on world cup preparation-related projects. Seven brand-new, distinctive arenas with compelling themes that drew inspiration from the local culture were what Qatar received in exchange for its investment. When Qatar submitted a proposal and was awarded the hosting rights in 2010, it had a 12-stadium plan.

As per FIFA’s guidelines for a World Cup host’s venue plan, there should be a primary stadium with a minimum capacity of 80,000 people to host the final, at least one more with a minimum capacity of 60,000 to host a semifinal, and many more with a minimum capacity of 40,000. FIFA, however, did allow Russia to have two stadiums with capacities below 35,000 in 2018.

The main source of contention during this world cup in Qatar, which imported tens of thousands of migrant workers mostly from South Asia, was that the country failed to compile data or look into the deaths of many of those migrants. It is still unclear how many workers lost their lives or suffered injuries while working on tournament-related projects.

That redevelopment plan was scaled back to eight stadiums around three years into its extensive preparations for the 2022 event. Before hosting the 2019 track and field world championships, the Khalifa International Stadium underwent renovations, and seven of them were brand-new constructions.

A lot of the specifics, such as where the stadium components will go, are unknown. A community area with schools, stores, cafés, gyms, and medical services will be included in Lusail Stadium. A five-star hotel, a mall, and a sports medical centre will all be present in Al Bayt.

Local soccer teams will utilise two of the venues. Al Rayyan’s home field is Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, while Al Wakrah will play at Al Janoub. The Qatar national team should continue to play their home matches at Khalifa International Stadium, especially during World Cup qualification.

For the following Asian Cup in January 2024, several of the stadiums might be utilised once more. Perhaps Stadium 974 will not be used for the Asian Championship, which begins in 13 months. The venue was built in the Doha Port area with as many shipping containers as there are in Qatar’s international area code in a Lego-like design.

(With agency outputs)