Qatar opens latest 2022 World Cup venue

Qatar’s Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan has been officially opened today exactly two years ahead of the country hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup final.

The 40,000-capacity arena was the venue for the Amir Cup final between Al Sadd and Al Arabi, with a half-capacity 20,000-strong crowd who had all been tested for Coronavirus beforehand.

Located 24 kilometres west of the capital Doha, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, set to host seven games during Qatar 2022 up to the round of 16 stage, becomes the fourth Qatar 2022 stadium to open following Khalifa International, Al Janoub and Education City.

Stadium designer Ramboll said the project was developed with the Al Rayyan area’s culture in mind with the Stadium’s glowing façade is glowing comprised of patterns that symbolise different aspects of Qatar - the importance of family, the beauty of the desert, native flora and fauna, and local and international trade. A fifth shape – a shield – brings together all the others, representing the strength and unity that is relevant to the city of Al Rayyan.

Ramboll Project Director, Alan Tweedie advised “respecting the history of both Al Rayyan and Qatar was an important design objective.

“Our stadium architect, Pattern Design, spent considerable time at the conceptual stage researching the history and culture. This included investigating the history of the Al Rayyan region itself. We ended up presenting four conceptual options and the chosen design was in the end a mix of many attractive options within each of the distinct proposals.”

Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the organisation responsible for the delivery of the World Cup, had entrusted the task of building of the venue to a Qatari-Indian Joint Venture between Qatar's Al Balagh Trading & Contracting, and India's biggest construction firm - Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T).

Significantly, this is the first time that an Indian firm has been involved in any capacity in the building of infrastructure for a FIFA World Cup tournament.

Despite the COVID-19 measures at the venue tonight, reports suggested that although rules inside the stadium mandating masks, assigning seats, and a ban on eating, social distancing was absent in the fan zone before kick-off.

Thousands of spectators, some un-masked, flocked around a stage to watch breakdancing and Bollywood renditions while a compere unsuccessfully encouraged social distancing.

Images: Qatar's Al-Rayyan Venue which will host World Cup 2022 matches and opened its doors with a domestic cup final. Credit: Qatar 2022.