FIFA World Cup 2022: Qatar reveals Lusail stadium design

On Saturday, Qatar revealed the design for the Lusail stadium that will in four years’ time host the first ever FIFA World Cup 2022 finals game to be played in the Middle East.

Apparently, the 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium — also the venue for the 2022 World Cup final — was revealed in an elaborate ceremony attended by the country’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and other dignitaries, including the United Nations’ secretary-general, Antonio Guterres.

Hassan al-Thawadi, who is the head of the country’s World Cup organising body, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, called the unveiling a ‘significant milestone’.

Commenting on the matter, he said, “Every milestone for us is always important. The announcement of the design of the stadium is very, very important… it’s the last stadium as well.”

For the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Lusail Stadium is the eighth and final venue.

Lusail Stadium is Designed by British architects Foster and Partners. The committee said that for the design of the stadium, the architects took their inspiration from Arab craftmanship.

Reportedly, it also stands close to the site of the former home of Qatar’s founder, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani al-Thani.

Notably, the stadium sits in the completely new city of Lusail, a $45 billion (40 billion euro) project located 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of the capital Doha.

The Lusail Stadium is one of the largest infrastructure schemes undertaken by Qatar, which is undergoing enormous transformation for the World Cup.

The construction work of the stadium is supposedly get over by 2020.

Unveiling of the Lusail stadium comes as world football’s governing body FIFA is still considering whether to expand the tournament from 32 teams to 48.

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