Qatar 2022: Four salient features of Al Rayyan Stadium

Cultural importance

The stadium’s design reflects the story of Qatar. Its most striking feature is a glowing facade, comprising patterns that characterise different aspects of the country: the importance of family, the beauty of the desert, the native flora and fauna, and local and international trade.

A fifth shape, a shield, brings together all the others, representing the strength and unity that is particularly relevant to the proud desert city of Al Rayyan.

Round-of-16 venue

During Qatar 2022, the stadium will host seven matches up to and including the round-of-16 stage. The stadium’s seating capacity during the tournament will be 40,000.

After Qatar 2022, the capacity will be reduced to 20,000 following the removal of the modular upper tier, with the seats being re-purposed into sporting facilities across Qatar and overseas.

Sustainability at its core

From its very conception, the stadium has had sustainability at its core. More than 90 per cent of the construction materials used in the project have been reused or recycled, with many of those materials sourced from the old Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, which once occupied the site.

This includes materials that were re-purposed into public art installations. Trees that once surrounded the old venue were retained for future replanting in order to minimise damage to the natural environment, while energy and water efficiency measures have been embedded to further reduce the stadium’s carbon footprint.

Gateway to desert

The stadium is situated in one of Qatar’s most historic cities, which sits close to Doha on the way to beautiful desert landscapes.

Al Rayyan will be transformed into a regional sporting hub, with six football training pitches, a cricket pitch, horse riding track, cycling track, gym equipment and an athletics track being some of the facilities that the local community can look forward to using.