Lusail Stadium-venue for the final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ (Source: qatar2022.qa)
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will not only dominate the sporting headlines this year, it will showcase the work of the wider stadium industry. And it will be a world cup like no other.
Firstly, it will take place from 21st November 2022 to 18th December 2022 at a time when the major European leagues would normally be in full swing. Seen by some as an unwelcome break, its timing is designed to take the worst off the harsh desert climate.
Secondly, it will take place on the most geographically compact footprint since the first edition of 1930, with only 35 miles separating its most distant stadiums. Compared to the vast footprints of Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, which felt as though they spanned continents rather than countries, this is more like a tournament hosted by a city. Attending more than one match in a day is entirely feasible.
Thirdly, it is twelve years since the hosting rights were awarded back in 2010. Whilst a joint venture between the Supreme Committee (the host country body overseeing the delivery of infrastructure and operations) and FIFA has been set up as the official organising body, the extended lead-in time has given Qatar additional scope to shape this world cup. With FIFA taking an increasingly active role in the delivery of its tournaments, it is unlikely that future host countries will find themselves in a similar position again.
Finally, the spectator-sporting culture in Qatar has historically been limited in scale. If the legacy value of major stadium building and renovations programmes in South Africa, Brazil and Russia has been called into question, then surely creating tournament-compliant infrastructure in Qatar is open to criticism? Or could Qatar’s stadium building programme break the mould by showcasing incredible innovation and act as catalyst for “challenger” hosting arrangements?
Stadiums designed to be scaled back and taken down
At times the media has described FIFA’s flagship tournament as a “travelling circus”. In Qatar we will see the nearest thing to a travelling stadium. Not only will the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ cover a smaller footprint, but it will also be hosted in eight stadiums compared to the usual twelve. Alongside the refurbished national stadium (Khalifa International Stadium), seven stadiums have been built for the tournament. Stadium 974 (known as Ras Abu Aboud Stadium prior to inauguration) is designed as the first fully demountable stadium of this scale (capacity: 40,000) and takes its name from the number of shipping containers used in its construction.
Stadium 974 (Source: qatar2022.qa)
The stadium’s original concept was to be demounted and then transported to a new location for reassembly as a sizable stadium. However, it will be now demounted and repurposed before being recycled into developing football communities.
The other six new-build stadiums have all been designed so that the seating decks from their upper-tiers are removed with the contents (seating etc.) repurposed and recycled within the global football community. These upper-tier spaces will be used after the world cup as hospitals, schools, places of worship, hotels, cafes, gyms and leisure facilities. Hence a 40,000-seater potential “white elephant” is superseded by a more usable and manageable 20,000-seater stadium which also incorporates other infrastructure of community value.
The upper-tier seating of the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium will be removed after the world cup and donated to developing countries with the space hosting community facilities (Source: qatar 2022.qa)
The end of an era?
A widely held view is that Qatar 2022 will be one of the last of its kind in terms of a stadium and wider infrastructure development programme driven by the requirements of a major tournament or event.
As already noted, Qatar follows in the footsteps of South Africa, Brazil and Russia in terms of an extensive new-build stadium programme driven by the requirements of the FIFA World Cup. The 2026 edition will be hosted entirely in existing stadiums in the United States, Canada and Mexico. UEFA is increasingly moving to a more sustainable (and low risk) use of existing infrastructure to host its major tournaments. 2022 is also an Olympic year but most of the venues for the Winter Games in Beijing will be existing ones. Likewise, the next summer Olympics in Paris 2024 will be centred around existing venues including the Stade de France.
Not only does this give event organisers greater certainty in infrastructural readiness, it is usually more sustainable. Major event organisers such as FIFA and the IOC are under increasing scrutiny to justify the environmental footprint of their events and the pressure that they can bring on host country public funds. Minimising major infrastructural works driven by the requirements of a one-off event can help to do this.
This isn’t to say that new build and renovation programmes are not desirable or justified. Indeed, they can act as focal points and catalysts of the wider regeneration of whole towns and cities. However, they should be driven as much by long-term legacy use as any one-off requirement.
So, beyond Qatar, should we expect any major stadium inaugurations this year? In the US the 30,000-capacity stadium in Nashville should become the largest purpose-built MLS venue. In China, major stadiums in Dalian and Guangzhou are scheduled. This relative quiet in terms of new activity will only increase the focus on Qatar.
A potential win for “can do”?
With its extended lead-in time and careful focus of the Supreme Committee, the delivery of the stadiums for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ is well in hand- all bar the final venue of Lusail have been tested and commissioned at least one year in advance. They are stunning, iconic stadiums that showcase some real innovations in stadium design and achieve 40% reductions in energy and water usage. The incorporation of cooling-systems within the stadium bowl ensures that any fears of high temperatures affecting players and spectators should be misplaced.
Spectators and players alike benefit from the cooling system installed inside Al Janoub Stadium
The challenges of welcoming, accommodating and moving a huge influx of international visitors around the country are likely to define the success of this world cup as a supporter experience.
If Qatar can pull this off, rather than be viewed as the end of an era and a “one-off” outcome of an unusual set of circumstances, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ could act as a powerful showcase for a “can do” mindset. Therefore, it could be a positive case study in terms of delivering major tournaments in what were previously considered impossible environments.
This is not only important for Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries who are trying to establish themselves as destinations for major international sporting events, but also for rights holders and event organisers such as FIFA. FIFA’s Global Vision states that an increasing number of member association should be provided the opportunity of hosting a FIFA tournament. The lessons from Qatar in 2022 could bring that vision a significant step closer.
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