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Qatar World Cup 2022 stadiums: Your guide to the eight venues

Young Morocco supporter - Qatar World Cup 2022 stadiums: Your guide to the eight venues - Youssef Loulidi/Getty Images
Young Morocco supporter - Qatar World Cup 2022 stadiums: Your guide to the eight venues - Youssef Loulidi/Getty Images

There were almost 10,000 seats officially empty at Morocco's dour draw with Croatia – the worst attended match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup match so far.

More than one in 10 fans also failed to show up for Belgium's 1-0 victory over Canada and Cameroon's 1-0 defeat to Switzerland.

There has been plenty of criticism around empty seats at this World Cup, and numbers show none of the fixtures were completely full.

However, opening matches for the likes of Brazil, Argentina and England were only short of capacity by well under 1,000.

Fifa said in a statement on Friday that official figures show  the average overall match attendance is at 94 per cent.

The best crowd so far has been the 88,103 watching Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 at the Lusail Stadium. On the same day, the Fifa Fan Festival said it had welcomed 98,000 fans throughout the day.

In the less well attended matches, such as Spain's opening fixture, there have been reports of organisers letting some locals in for free at half-time.

Three days after the tournament began, organisers increased official stadium sizes as venues were exceeding previously stated capacities.

The new numbers – which suggests some venues have increased by up to 12 per cent – also partly explains some lower-than-expect turnouts at matches.

Fifa said in a statement: "The capacity figures for the tournament have been finalised after all operational arrangements were made – from the final seating map to temporary infrastructure to accommodate media, broadcasters, and guests. It was also explained that capacities for specific matches such as opening and final may vary slightly, and that figures for legacy mode are different and provided by the host country."

More tickets were said to have been made available ahead of the event as it emerged the broadcasters would need less than expected room.

One issue for fans appears to be cost, with studies showing this tournament is 40 per cent more expensive for match tickets compared Russia 2018.

Tickets for the final cost an eye-watering £684 on average. While fans in Russia paid an average of £214 for a seat, tickets to matches in Qatar cost an average £286, according to a study by Keller Sports.

What are the stadiums like?

The eight stadiums that are hosting the 2022 Qatar World Cup are eye-catching, to say the least.

One of the stadiums is made of shipping containers while another is intended to resemble traditional Middle Eastern headgear.

While they are striking in design, the eight venues – the fewest since the 16-team 1978 World Cup in Argentina – are a logistical relief for fans attending arguably the most controversial World Cup ever.

That is because the eight stadiums are all within 21 miles of central Doha and are linked by a metro and tram system, making it possible to watch more than one game in the same day.

Some grounds are powered by solar farms and equipped with cooling systems to battle the heat, while others have outdoor air-conditioning. And once the tournament is said and done days before Christmas, only one stadium will be called home to a football team: the Khalifia International Stadium.

The others will be either dismantled completely (in the cast of Stadium 974) or reduced in capacity and repurposed as hotels, community spaces or smaller sporting facilities.

How many stadiums will host the event?

Eight stadiums will host the 32 teams from the opening game on November 20 to the final on December 18.

The opening game kick off at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, while the finalists will head to Doha a month later to play at the Lusail Stadium.

Lusail Iconic Stadium

Pre-tournament capacity: 80,000
Tournament capacity: 88,966

Lusail Stadium
Lusail Stadium

The Lusail Stadium (officially Lusail Iconic Stadium) is the centrepiece of the Qatar World Cup. It is the biggest stadium available with a capacity of 80,000 – although that figure increased once the tournament got under way by around 12 per cent. Organisers claimed the additional seats were found as a result of fewer being needed by broadcast media.

The stadium features cooling systems to help combat the local climate, drawing power from a solar farm outside the city and is where the World Cup final will be played, as well as a number of group fixtures, and one game from each of the knockout rounds before December 18.

It is situated 15 miles north of Doha and served by both the Metro and matchday buses from Doha. Lusail is very much still a city in development, with plans ultimately to develop an infrastructure that could support more than double the current 200,000 population.

Beyond the accommodation blocks that have housed many of those 10,000 people who have worked on the Lusail Stadium for the past six years – and whose faces form a mosaic outside the stadium – the immediate surrounds remained largely barren at the time of Telegraph Sport’s site visit in June.

Project manager Tamim El Abed explained that the space will help with organising all the fans, staff, stewarding and security on a match day when “it will look more alive” with greenery and prefabricated buildings. The surrounding area will then be handed over to developers for “long term” low rise development such as retail and schools in support of the growing city.

Construction began in 2017 and was finished in 2021, at an estimated cost of $767 million.

Group-stage fixtures
Argentina 1 Saudi Arabia 2
Brazil 2 Serbia 0
Argentina 2 Mexico 0
Portugal 2 Uruguay 0
Saudi Arabia 1 Mexico 2
Cameroon 1 Brazil 0

Round of 16
Portugal 6 Switzerland 1

Quarter-final 
Netherlands vs Argentina

Semi-final
TBC vs TBC

Final
TBC vs TBC

Al Bayt Stadium 

Pre-tournament capacity: 60,000
Tournament capacity: 68,895

Al Bayt Stadium - Paul Grover /The Telegraph
Al Bayt Stadium - Paul Grover /The Telegraph

At around 30 miles from the centre of Doha, Al Bayt Stadium represents the ‘outpost’ of football’s most compact World Cup. It is also one of the biggest stadiums at a capacity of 68,895 and will host nine matches during the tournament, including England vs USA in the group phase, a quarter-final and a semi-final. With its retractable roof and traditionally Arabic tented design, it is also one of the most eye-catching designs. Express shuttle buses will take fans to the stadium from both the centre of Doha and the Lusail Metro Station.

It will also serve as the venue for the opening ceremony.

Group-stage fixtures
Qatar 0 Ecuador 2
Morocco 0 Croatia 0
England 0 USA 0
Spain 1 Germany 1
Netherlands 2 Qatar 0
Costa Rica 2 Germany 4

Round of 16
England 3 Senegal 0

Quarter-final
England vs France

Semi-final
TBC vs TBC

Education City Stadium

Pre-tournament capacity: 45,320
Tournament capacity: 44,667

Education City Stadium - Matthew Ashton /Getty Images
Education City Stadium - Matthew Ashton /Getty Images

Opened on June 15, 2020, the Education City Stadium is billed as one of the world’s most environmentally sustainable stadiums. It is surrounded by Qatar's educational institutes, which will continue to use the stadium after the tournament closes.

The stadium has already hosted matches in the Qatar Stars League and the World Club Cup, and Education City will host seven World Cup matches up until the quarter-finals. Its capacity will be reduced to around 25,000 after the tournament. Situated on the edge of Doha, the stadium can be accessed on the Metro line.

Group-stage fixtures
Denmark 0 Tunisia 0
Uruguay 0 South Korea 0
Poland 2 Saudi Arabia 0
South Korea 2 Ghana 3
Tunisia 1 France 0
South Korea 2 Portugal 1

Round of 16
Morocco 0 Spain 0; Morocco win 3-0 on penalties

Quarter-final
Croatia vs Brazil

Stadium 974

Pre-tournament capacity: 40,000
Tournament capacity: 44,089

Stadium 974 - Getty Images
Stadium 974 - Getty Images

Nestled just 5km from the airport and overlooking the seafront corniche, the ideal match venue for those fans who might be heading in and out of Doha on a matchday while staying elsewhere in the region.

The name comes from the 974 shipping containers that were used to construct the stadium and, with a 44,089 capacity, it will host matches up until the last 16. It will be dismantled after the tournament, making it the first temporary venue in World Cup history.

Group-stage fixtures
Mexico 0 Poland 0
Portugal 3 Ghana 2
France 2 Denmark 1
Brazil 1 Switzerland 0
Poland 0 Argentina 2
Serbia 2 Switzerland 3

Round of 16
Brazil 4 South Korea 1

Khalifia International Stadium

Pre-tournament capacity: 40,000
Tournament capacity: 45,857

Khalifia International Stadium - Igor Kralj/Getty Images
Khalifia International Stadium - Igor Kralj/Getty Images

Served by the Doha metro and just seven miles outside Doha city centre, the Khalifa International Stadium is the oldest of the eight stadiums after first being constructed in 1976. It has been renovated for the World Cup, and now has a 45,857 capacity, but has already previously hosted the Club World Cup and the World Athletics Championships. It will be the venue for England's first match of the tournament against Iran.

It is named after Qatar’s former Emir, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, and has been the home stadium for the national team since its construction.

Group-stage fixtures
England 6 Iran 2
Germany 1 Japan 2
Netherlands 1 Ecuador 1
Croatia 4 Canada 1
Ecuador 1 Senegal 2
Japan 2 Spain 1

Round of 16
Netherlands 3 USA 1

Play-off for third place
TBC vs TBC

Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium

Pre-tournament capacity: 44,740
Tournament capacity: 45,032

Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium - Getty Images
Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium - Getty Images

The Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan  took its design from the desert landscape around the ground and Qatar. It features several sand dune-esque structures after a redesign for the World Cup following its initial build completion in 2003.

It was more than 40C when Telegraph Sport attended the final play-off match in June between Peru and Australia at this stadium which is situated within 600 metres from the metro station in Al Rayyan. But there will be no worries about the playing temperatures when England face Wales in their final group stage fixture inside the stadium thanks to air conditioning systems that were designed by Dr Saud Abdulaziz Abdul Ghani, a Sudanese graduate of mechanical thermal fluids from Nottingham University.

“We maintain a bubble – and make sure it will not burst – by keeping the pressure different from outside,” he said. “The technology also cools the air and purifies it from pollen dust, human skin, human hair, and then gives it back.”

At 21C, the temperature in June was indeed transformed to a mild European spring evening and allowed the players to perform at full tilt over 120 minutes without so much as a drinks break. “You’re not hot at all,’ said Denis Genreau, the Australia midfielder. “I don’t know how they do it.”

Group-stage fixtures
USA 1 Wales 1
Belgium 1 Canada 0
Wales 0 Iran 2
Japan 0 Costa Rica 1
Wales 0 England 3
Croatia 0 Belgium 0

Round of 16
Argentina 2 Australia 1

Al Thumama Stadium

Pre-tournament capacity: 40,000
Tournament capacity: 44,400

Al Thumama Stadium - Getty Images
Al Thumama Stadium - Getty Images

Another of the more eye-catching architectural achievements, with its circular outline designed to reflect the gahfiya – the traditional woven cap worn by men and boys across the Arab world. This is another stadium within close proximity of Doha and the airport, and it previously staged matches in the 2021 Arab Cup. This stadium will host eight matches during the World Cup, including a quarter-final.

Group-stage fixtures
Senegal 0 Netherlands 2
Spain vs Costa Rica
Qatar 1 Senegal 3
Belgium 0 Morocco 2
Iran 0 USA 1
Canada 1 Morocco 2

Round of 16
France 3 Poland 1

Quarter-final
Morocco vs Portugal

Al Janoub Stadium

Pre-tournament capacity: 40,000
Tournament capacity: 44,325

Al Janoub Stadium - Getty Images
Al Janoub Stadium - Getty Images

The stadium's design, by the British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, was inspired by the hulls of traditional pearl fishing boats, which are further reflected by the use of timber and traditional materials. The symmetrical roof, intended to look like sails, is the standout feature.

Al Janoub stadium is situated in the town of Al-Wakrah where the England team are based, around 30 minutes from the centre of Doha. After the tournament, it will later be reduced in size and become the home venue of the local Al Wakrah football team which currently plays in the Qatar Stars League.

Group-stage fixtures

France 4 Australia 1
Switzerland 1 Cameroon 0
Tunisia 0 Australia 1
Cameroon 3 Serbia 3
Australia 1 Denmark 0
Ghana 0 Uruguay 2

Round of 16
Japan 1 Croatia 1; Croatia win 3-1 on penalties