To the east of Doha’s city centre, a new waterfront stadium will rise up in the Ras Abu Aboud area, looking out towards the futuristic skyscrapers of the West Bay district in the rich Gulf state of Qatar.
The Ras Abu Aboud Stadium - which will host matches up till the quarter-finals - will feature, like all of the FIFA World Cup 2022 stadiums, a natural grass pitch and hospitality areas.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the organisation responsible for delivering the infrastructure required to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, unveiled the design of Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, the seventh FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium design to be released, on Sunday.
Commenting on the launch of the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium design, SC Secretary General H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi said: “Innovation has always been central to our plans for delivering a historic FIFA World Cup that leaves a legacy for Qatar and the world, and there is no better example of this than the design of Ras Abu Aboud Stadium.
"This venue offers the perfect legacy, capable of being reassembled in a new location in its entirety or built into numerous small sports and cultural venues. All of this in a stadium that delivers the atmosphere fans expect at a World Cup and which we will build in a more sustainable way than ever before.
"I’m delighted with this design and confident that Ras Abu Aboud will become a blueprint for future mega-event planners to follow.”
Legacy proposals include transforming the stadium site into a mixed-use urban neighbourhood after the FIFA World Cup 2022, providing housing for Qatar’s rapidly expanding population. How the stadiums benefit local people is just as important to organisers as the experience of football fans in 2022.
The design was envisioned by leaders in football stadium design Fenwick Iribarren Architects, the firm behind Qatar Foundation Stadium, another FIFA World Cup 2022 venue, and many more.
The Ras Abu Aboud Stadium is the seventh stadium design launched ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022, and work is already underway.
Federico Addiechi, Head of CSR at FIFA, said: “Qatar is delivering superb results in terms of sustainability and innovation, including the proposed design for Ras Abu Aboud Stadium.
"From day one, there has been a strong emphasis on sustainability from Qatar, including a commitment to ensure that all infrastructure meets strict design, build and operations criteria under the GSAS certification programme."
With this, only the design of the venue of the opening ceremony and the Final – Lusail Stadium – remains to be revealed.