All About the Location and Stadiums of the Qatar World Cup

Qatar is making history as the first Middle Eastern country to hold the World Cup. This is one of the primary reasons, among scandalous factors that I’ll get into in another post, that they were chosen as the host country. Qatar is a beautiful country in the Persian Gulf. Its area of 4,468 square miles makes it around 20% smaller than Connecticut. Qatar certainly should not be written off because of its size; in fact, it should be perceived as a major benefit. It allows those traveling to experience the World Cup to easily travel between games and different events. This is a sharp contrast to the last World Cup, which took place in Russia, where fans had to travel hundreds or thousands of miles if they wanted to watch multiple games.

Above is a map of Qatar in 2022, outlining its regions and local borders.

The climate is another big factor that makes Qatar such a unique host country. In the summer months, it is not uncommon that the temperatures climb to upwards of 105°F. There is also very minimal rainfall at around three inches, which compounds the heat, forming hot, dry Summers. This would make playing games unsafe for players as well as for the fans watching. For this very reason, the 2022 World Cup was moved to the Winter for the first time in the event’s history. The Winter months provide much more comfortable temperatures with the average temperature being 72.5°F across November and December (Weather Spark).

Before being selected as the host country for the World Cup, Qatar had few venues that could support the hundreds of thousands of fans traveling to watch the World Cup. As a result, FIFA invested $1.7 billion in Qatar. This money goes directly toward building modern stadiums and improving infrastructure to support the fans coming to Qatar. Along with government funding, the result of this money has developed into seven stadiums, an airport, new roads, almost one hundred hotels, and an improved subway system. This is not only exciting for the people traveling to the games as it makes their lives much easier, but also for the people of Qatar who now have significantly better infrastructure along with new jobs. It is predicted that this will add over $17 billion to Qatar’s economy, making this an excellent investment (BBC 2022).

As for the stadiums that are being built, they are all incredibly modern, have air conditioning, and each contains at least 40,000 seats. Modeled after the Arab and Islamic hand-crafted bowls created during the development of civilization in the Middle East, the Lusail Iconic Stadium is the biggest stadium that has been built in Qatar, holding 80,000 people. The construction of the stadium began in 2014 and was completed in late 2021. This stadium will be the venue of the 2022 World Cup final, a highly prestigious honor. For those in Qatar who are worried about what it’ll be used for after the World Cup don’t fret, because it’s going to be transitioned into a community of shops, schools, eateries, and wellness clinics (FIFA 2022). For those who will be seeing it on television from the comfort of their home (like me) stay tuned as we get ready for kickoff in Qatar.

Pictured above is the Lusail Iconic Stadium, which was completed in 2021.

Works Cited

“Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Qatar.” Weather Spark, weatherspark.com/y/150272/Average-Weather-in-Qatar-Year-Round#:~:text=Climate%20and%20Average%20Weather%20Year,or%20above%20112%C2%B0F.

“Lusail Stadium: Qatar 2022.” FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, www.qatar2022.qa/en/tournament/stadiums/lusail-stadium.

“World Cup 2022: How Has Qatar Treated Foreign Workers?” BBC News, BBC, 25 Aug. 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-60867042.