World Cup venue Al Janoub stands tall

Al Janoub Stadium, one of the spectacular stadiums to host the Fifa World Cup 2022, also hosted the semifinal of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatari capital of Doha. The media representatives from different parts of the world, who came for the coverage of the Gulf Cup, got a chance to discover the world-class stadiums with detailed site visit to the venue accompanied with Eng Abdulaziz al Ishaq, Project Director of the stadium from the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (the government authority responsible for delivering the stadiums, infrastructure and legacy for the 2022 Fifa World Cup). “The total land size of the stadium is 580,000 square metres while the building area is 110,000 square metres. Iraqi architect Zuha Hadid, did the amazing design of the stadium. As any architect prior starting to design, she came to Al Wakra city and got better idea on the city and then reflected that on the stadium. Al Wakra city is located in a coastal area dominated by the sea environment. Accordingly, the design of the stadium reflected on the city environment as seashell and pearl,” Abdulaziz said. As Qatar hosted the top sports events in the world, Fifa was in contact with the project team for the stadium to implement the Fifa standards at the stadium. “ A range of special Fifa standards was followed and implemented in the stadium including the seating way which should be visible for each spectator to see the whole green field from his chair beside to other requirements. As per the agreement with Fifa, Qatar represented by Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy will remove the upper teal of the stadium and transfer it to Africa to be used for another stadium there after completion of the Fifa World Cup 2022,” the chief engineer explained. The stadium can accommodate more than 40,000 fans and it is launched in last May during the Emir Cup 2019 final between Al Duhail and Al Sadd. Also, Oman national team played against Qatar in the joint qualification on October 15. Both matches were the taste of the experience future fans to enjoy at World Cup quarterfinal venue. The project director of the Al Janoub Stadium proudly said that this stadium is equipped with high security and professional system. “More than 1,800 CCTV cameras are installed besides to other cameras from the Ministry of Interior. The grass of the stadium is a special type as the depth of it is in 22 cm in the ground. It is a special type of grass brought from America. We are using a ‘grow light’ device daily to ensure the correct growth of grass,” Al Eshaq said. The pattern of a wave style at the stadium is in blue colour which is reflecting Al Wakrah city as it is popular with this colour. Al Janoub Stadium is the first stadium in the world to have 18,000 AC machines installed in the stadium. “The stadium is classified as a four-star venue from the GSAS (A professional sustainability centre) in designing and building. The stadium is designed and built to create healthier spaces and reduce negative impacts on the environment,” the project director concluded. As per Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy officials, the whole sports complex will be a wonderful venue not for football matches only, but could be for a wedding hall, restaurants, marketplaces, gymnasiums, cycling, horse riding, running tracks and other activities.