Education City Stadium is a football stadium located in Al Rayyan, Qatar. It was built as a venue in time for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup. On 3 September 2020, the stadium hosted its first official match, played in the 2020-21 Qatar Stars League season.
Located on the outskirts of the capital Doha, the Education City Stadium has a capacity of 40,000 seats. It was given the nickname “Diamond in the Desert”. It is considered to be one of the world’s most environmentally sustainable stadiums. Also in 2019, it received a 5-star GSAS rating.
Planning for the construction of this beautiful stadium started way back in 2014. Following that, construction started rolling in May 2015. Within only 2018, the external structure was complete. On June 15, 2020, the Education City Stadium was opened for exhibition. September of the same year, its very first official match was hosted in the stadium.
The stadium’s auditorium has 3 levels. The highest among them have a capacity of around 15,000. It contains 39 skyboxes with their kitchen each. Also, every skybox can accommodate 9-36 persons. The stadium also carries 6 media pavilions and a 150 people conference room.
Education city stadium’s enclosed outer shell resembles a diamond. It is highly reflective during the day and illuminated with multiple diodes at the night. The stadium also boasts a better thermal controlled interior, so that, regardless of whether outside, inside temperature is always kept to 24 – 28-degree Celsius. It is built slightly lower the ground level for better thermal control conditions.
Education City Stadium Information:
| Full Name | Education City Stadium |
| Location | Education City, Al Rayyan, Quatar |
| Architect | Pattern Design, RFA Fenwick Iribarren Architects |
| Capacity | 45,350 |
| Construction Began | 2016 |
| Stadium Opened | 2020 |
| Structural Engineer | Buro Happold, Arup |
| Contractors | J&P Qatar WLL, Conspel Qatar WLL |
Criticism:
When in the construction period, the stadium’s working condition was heavily criticized. Several international media outlets hit the stadium with criticism about the poor working conditions of immigrant workers. Later, the work condition was improved to avoid any further negative evaluation.
2022 FIFA World Cup in the Education City Stadium:
| Date | Time (AST) | Match |
| 22 November | 16:00 | Denmark vs. Tusinia |
| 24 November | 16:00 | Uruguay vs. South Korea |
| 26 November | 16:00 | Poland vs. Saudi Arabia |
| 28 November | 16:00 | South Korea vs. Ghana |
| 30 November | 18:00 | Tusinia vs. France |
| 2 December | 18:00 | South Korea vs. Portugal |
| 6 December | 18:00 | Winner Gr.F vs. Runners-Up Gr.E |
| 9 December | 18:00 | Quarter-finals |
After the 2022 FIFA World Cup is complete, the stadium’s biggest auditorium will be dismantled. It will reduce the capacity to around 25,000. The stadium will be then used by the nearby several universities’ athletic teams.
Qatar is known for promoting profitability while maintaining ecology at its best. Their work is visible with their stadiums’ construction planning for the coming FIFA World cup. This type of planning will assist future designers in creating more functional and sustainable designs.
- Read Also: FIFA World Cup 2022 Trophy
