Let us kick off our weekly Word Cup 2022 coverages and start off by looking at the most iconic stadium in Qatar to host the world’s biggest football event.
Lusail is one of eight stadiums built throughout Qatar and by far the largest. It will host 10 matches throughout the 2022 World Cup, starting with Argentina versus Saudi Arabia on November 22 and ending with the World Cup Final on December 18.
The procurement process for the stadium conversion began in 2014. The stadium was built as a joint venture by HBK Contracting (HBK) and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC). MEP works have been carried out by HBK Engineering W L L. The stadium was designed by British firm Foster + Partners, and Populous, Lusail Stadium was ready in 2020.
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Like the other stadiums planned for the 2022 World Cup, the Lusail Stadium will be cooled using solar power and have a zero carbon footprint. Construction began on 11 April 2017. The end of construction of the Stadium was originally scheduled for 2020. It was then to host three friendly matches until the 2022 World Cup, but as the completion of the stadium was postponed, it will subsequently host 10 games including the final.
On 9 September 2022, before the World Cup, the Lusail Super Cup, the Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup, a tournament that will serve as a rehearsal for the World Cup finals, held between the two teams of Al Hilal, the 2021-22 Saudi Arabian champion, and Zamalek, the 2021-22 Egyptian champion.
Following the World Cup, it is expected to be reconfigured into a 40,000-seat stadium. Excess seating will be removed, and other parts of the building repurposed as a community space with shops, cafés, athletic and education facilities, and a health clinic.
