Qatar Football AssociationNews
21.08.2017 7:26 in :

www.sc.qa

The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the organisation responsible for delivering the infrastructure required to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ in Qatar, has today launched the design of Al Thumama Stadium, the sixth 2022 FIFA World Cup™ venue design the SC has revealed. Al Thumama Stadium is one of seven venues currently under construction across Qatar, with the Khalifa International Stadium having been completed and inaugurated in May in Doha.

Based on the ‘gahfiya’ headdress worn by men across the Arab world, an essential component of traditional Arab dress, Al Thumama’s distinct design is steeped in tradition and history and will resonate across the Arab world. The stadium was designed by renowned Qatari architect Ibrahim M. Jaidah, who is also behind Qatar Museum’s Fire Station gallery and Doha’s new Ministry of Interior building, and comes from the Arab Engineering Bureau (AEB), the oldest architectural and engineering consulting firm in Qatar. Jaidah also worked on the previous headquarters for Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, printed on the Qatari one hundred riyal note.

Speaking on the launch of the new stadium design, H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, SC Secretary General, said: “With just over five years to go until Qatar opens the doors of the Middle East to the world, this symbolic design embodies everything that unites us as Arabs and Muslims, and is a fitting tribute to the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East. Given its cultural and historical relevance, I am confident that, once completed, Al Thumama Stadium will become a favourite among the region’s sports fans and a sporting landmark that demonstrates to future generations just how unique the Qatar World Cup will be.”
Al Thumama Stadium is set for completion in 2020 and will seat 40,000 spectators and host matches up to the quarter-final stage when the FIFA World Cup™ kicks off on November 21st, 2022. The innovative arena is being built by a Qatar-Turkey joint venture (JV) between AlJaber Engineering and Turkey’s largest construction company, Tekfen, with enabling works successfully completed in 2016. Architectural Design Consultant Heerim, who recently worked on the stunning Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan, will also be working on the stadium.

Discussing his design for the latest FIFA World Cup™ stadium, architect Ibrahim M. Jaidah said: “The reveal of Al Thumama Stadium design comes with immense pride in having contributed to the delivery of the first World Cup in the history of Qatar and the region. The inspiration behind the design comes in line with Qatar’s hosting promise that this World Cup will be one for the region to celebrate. I believe it will be a stadium design that resonates with the Arab community, and we are extremely proud to have designed this innovative venue.”

The stadium is one of the most centrally located venues out of the eight being constructed for the tournament, nestled in the busy residential Doha suburb of Al Thumama, located just 6km south of Doha’s famous Corniche. It is also just 5km from Doha’s state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport, which will have capacity to handle over 200,000 travelling fans a day come tournament time, and situated close to various metro stations on Qatar Rail’s Red Line, enabling fans to effortlessly travel between hotels and stadiums to watch multiple live matches per day thanks to the compact nature of the tournament.

Eng. Hilal Jeham Al Kuwari, Chairman of the SC’s Technical Delivery Office, said of the new stadium: “This is another unique design that all of Qatar will be proud of, given its rich cultural connotations. The gahfiya, which weaves centuries of shared heritage into its design, is also a welcome reminder of the cultural and historical bonds that unite the people of the Arab World as one. My team and I will work tirelessly to ensure the finished product truly captures the imaginations of young and old alike, and lives up to their expectations.”

The stadium will be equipped with both world-class standards of disabled access and the SC’s revolutionary cooling technology to enable year-round sporting activities after the tournament. In legacy mode the stadium capacity will decrease to 20,000 thanks to demountable modular seating sections which the SC will donate to developing football nations after the tournament. The remaining 20,000-seater Al Thumama Stadium will feature a boutique hotel and a range of amenities the SC is agreeing with the local community to ensure the precinct meets its needs long after the final whistle in 2022.

The distinctive white bowl design, adorned with an intricate pattern, is based on the ‘gahfiya’, an essential component of traditional Arab dress that holds in place the ‘ghutra’ and ‘aghal’, which together form a symbol of dignity and independence.

The site previously held four Qatar Football Association (QFA) training pitches and hosted the preliminary rounds of the Workers’ Cup, an SC initiative launched to enable migrant workers from across Qatar to play competitive football, which has seen over 10,000 construction workers compete in its five editions (2013-2017).

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