The official opening of the Education City Stadium, one of the seven new venues being built for the FIFA World Cup in 2022, is scheduled for December 18 which is also Qatar National Day.

The stadium will host one of the semifinals of the forthcoming FIFA Club World Cup on the opening day and three days later the final will also be held there.

Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), said unveiling the stadium on the Qatar National Day would be a proud moment for the entire country.

“The inauguration of Education City Stadium will mark another major milestone on the road to delivering international football’s showpiece event. Everyone in Qatar will feel immense pride when this architectural masterpiece is unveiled on our country’s National Day, during the prestigious FIFA Club World Cup, and exactly three years before the Qatar 2022 final,” said Al Thawadi.

“Hosting the FIFA Club World Cup is a golden opportunity to boost our preparation for 2022 while giving thousands of fans from across the globe a taste of what to expect in three years’ time. We’re immensely excited about hosting this tournament this year and also in 2020, as we continue to finalise our plans for the World Cup,” he added.

The 40,000-capacity arena, nicknamed the ‘Diamond in the Desert’, will become the third FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadium to open, following Khalifa International Stadium in 2017 and Al Janoub Stadium earlier this year.

The stadium will host matches up to the quarterfinals stage in 2022. Fans will be able to access the stadium using the Doha Metro Green Line, which is set to open in the coming weeks.

The design of Education City Stadium draws on the rich history of Islamic architecture, blended with striking modernity. The facade features triangles that form complex, diamond-like geometrical patterns which appear to change colour depending on the sun’s position.

European champions Liverpool will feature in the stadium’s inaugural fixture after they received a bye into the semifinal Club World Cup. Liverpool’s opponents will be decided during the tournament, which kicks off on December 11.

“We’re honoured that Liverpool, one of the most famous and prestigious clubs in the world, will contest the opening match at the Education City Stadium,” said
Engineer Yasir Al Jamal, Vice Chairman of the SC’s Technical Delivery Office.

“We’re also immensely proud that Education City Stadium will be the third tournament-ready venue for Qatar 2022 and the second, after Al Janoub Stadium, to be built from scratch. I would like to pay tribute to the entire project team, along with Qatar Foundation, one of our key stakeholders. They’ve collaborated brilliantly to deliver this magnificent structure three years before the FIFA World Cup is held right here in Qatar,” he added.

Post-2022, the stadium’s seating capacity will be reduced to 20,000, with the modular upper tier donated to create sporting facilities overseas. The stadium will eventually provide sporting facilities for the numerous educational, research and innovation establishments at the Education City.