With the 2022 FIFA World Cup now less than ten years away, the cultured country of Qatar has been given the privilege it absolutely deserves, and for the first time ever, this rich and rapidly developing country will be able to host the absolute pinnacle of Football skill, the FIFA 2022 World Cup.
Of course, there can’t be football without spectators, referees, teams and most importantly, the stadium, so below are some of our favourite picks from the current stadiums slated for renovations and improvements as well as many of the incredible concepts lined up by many of the Middle-East’s top architects and some of the world’s best international development groups & studios. Each one boasts a completely unique style with brilliantly innovative designs integrated, so that it not only looks aesthetically pleasing but retains an incredible degree of functionality and practical usage.
 | This rendition of the Umm Slal Stadium has been based strongly around inspiration taken from an old fort and has been given a shimmering look, resembling gold for a brilliantly dazzling display when the lights are activated. It has been said that it’ll hold upwards of forty-five thousand people and will be used by the Umm Slal Football Club as their home ground. |
| Concepts of the Al-Shamal Stadium have been developed from motifs taken from a traditional fishing boat often spotted around the Arabian Gulf, also known as a Dhow. Following the World Cup’s end, the upper tier of the stadium will be disassembled for shipment to developing countries. |  |
 | Designed to work as a shipping dock, the Doha Port Stadium helps to reference its location by mimicking a shape loosely resembling a marine animal. |
| A truly unique concept, the Floating Off-Shore Stadium has been designed to be completely mobile and movable, allowing it to be transported between locations to suit any event type. Brilliantly, it’s eco-friendly as it is powered by a mix of hybrid energy including wind, water and solar power. It’ll hold upwards of 65,000 people and is sure to be one of the main spectacles of the FIFA 2022 season. |  |
 | The Al Rayyan Stadium, more commonly known as the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, has been developed to allow people from outside of the stadium to spectate on the match with a gigantic screen wrapping around the stadium. It’s the home to the Al-Rayyan and Al-Kharitiyath Sports Clubs and seats over twenty-one-thousand people, for the 2022 FIFA World Cup renovations have been planned and the seating capacity will be increased to cover and hold over forty-four-thousand people. |
| Taking on the shape and design of a asymmetric seashell, the Al-Khor Stadium has been proposed to allow for constant covered seating for all of its forty-five-thousand-plus spectators and over a thousand seats for press, whilst keeping a truly unique aesthetic contemporary motif that works as a fully-functional shade system. Additionally the design has been praised for its transportation connections, holding six-thousand cars, a thousand taxis and five-hundred buses. |  |
 | Using a state-of-the-art cooling system, the technology involved in Arup’s zero carbon design, the Lusail Iconic Stadium, makes the structure the world’s most sustainable sporting arena. This beautiful concept not only sparks the imagination but also runs on solar power whilst simultaneously protecting its spectators from the summer sun. Additionally, to enter the stadium, entrants must cross one of six bridges to get over the moat circling the stadium for a truly enchanting cultural experience. |
| Originally opened in 1976, the Khalifa International Stadium has already been renovated once in 2005, which doubled its base capacity from twenty-thousand to forty-thousand people, an additional roof has also been built on the western side of the stadium. Renovations for the upcoming World Cup will include an increased seating arrangement supporting around seventy-thousand people and a surrounding ‘Aspire zone’ which will include the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence and many other venues. |  |
 | Holding 27,000 people and built in 2003, the Thani bin Jassim Stadium, also known as the Al-Gharrafa Stadium, has been used to host the 2011 AFC Asian Cup as well as a variety of other international competitions. The colours wrapped around the outside of the stadium are an amalgation of competing countries from around the world and have been weaved together to symbolize mutual respect and sportsmanship. |
| Built in one of Qatar’s most ancient cities, the Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, also known as the Al-Wakrah SC Stadium, holds over twelve-thousand people, is the home venue of the Al-Wakrah Sports Club and has been developed by leading Iraqi-British designer Zaha Hadid. Following the cup’s ending date the stadium’s capacity will be reduced to twenty-five-and-a-half-thousand seats. |  |
With all these amazing projects set to come to full fruition with the rise of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, Qatar is going to be the hot spot of the world very soon and combined with a rapidly developing economy and incredibly vast infrastructure throughout the region, it’s no wonder so many people are finding there way there.
SeekTeachers is constantly updating its information on every area of the world and is also frequently adding new job listings to their website. To see some of the teaching jobs in the region, check our jobs list here.
[Images: qatar.to, stadiumconcept.de lifeonthespot.com]