“Work of Art” as described by FIFA president Gianni Infantino himself has been unveiled as one of the venues for the FIFA World Cup 2022. The Al Thumama Stadium, Qatar’s latest FIFA World Cup tournament venue, was thrown open on Saturday with a ceremonial event.
FIFA president Infantino who attended the ceremony along with the Qatar Amir Sheikh Tamim Al Thani described the stadium as a “work of art”.
“Qatar continues to amaze the football world and it will not stop until the curtain closes on the FIFA World Cup. Al Thumama Stadium is another work of art and carries a lot of significance for the country and the region. I cannot wait to see the first FIFA pan-Arab football tournament being held right here in a few weeks’ time, and to witness the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East just one year from now,” said Infantino.
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Designed to resemble the ‘gahfiya’ head cap worn by men and boys across the Arab world, Al Thumama is the first FIFA World Cup stadium to be designed by a Qatari architect. The 40,000-capacity venue will host matches up to the quarter-finals stage during Qatar 2022. It follows Khalifa International, Al Janoub, Education City, Ahmad Bin Ali and Al Bayt in being declared ready to host matches during next year’s tournament.
Al Thumama features state-of-the-art cooling technology, which will allow the venue to host events throughout the year. Its precinct includes a number of sporting facilities, including cycling and running tracks, and extensive green spaces, for the benefit of the local community.
Engineer Yasir Al Jamal, Chairman of the SC’s Operations Office and Vice Chairman of the Technical Delivery Office, said: “The stadium is spectacular and the inauguration is yet another milestone in our preparations. Two more stadiums – Al Bayt and Ras Abu Aboud – will be unveiled during the FIFA Arab Cup, followed by Lusail Stadium in 2022. We have now exceeded 98% completion across our projects and remain in excellent shape ahead of next year’s World Cup.”
Al Thawadi said, “We are now within touching distance of the World Cup. Soon we will pass the one year milestone and host the FIFA Arab Cup – which will give us a major opportunity to test all our plans for Qatar 2022. We stand ready and prepared to host a memorable World Cup for the benefit of Qatar, the region and the world.”
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