Al-Janoub Stadium (), formerly known as Al-Wakrah Stadium (), is a retractable-roof

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

stadium in

al-Wakrah Al Wakrah () is the capital city of the Al Wakrah Municipality in Qatar. Al Wakrah's eastern edge touches the shores of the Persian Gulf and Qatar's capital Doha is situated immediately north of the city. Governed by Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Jassi ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

that was inaugurated on 16 May 2019. This was the second of the eight stadiums inaugurated for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, after the renovation of

Khalifa International Stadium Khalifa International Stadium (, , ) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Doha, Qatar, around west from the centre of Doha. Its ground comprises a running track and a Pitch (sports field), grass pitch. Opened in 1976, the stadium was named af ...

. It was designed by Iraqi-British architect

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

(1950–2016) together with the firms

AECOM AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...

and Jain & Partners of

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. The stadium features a curvilinear

postmodernist Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

and neo-futurist design. The appearance of the roof was inspired by the sails of traditional

dhow Dhow (; ) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels ...

s used by

pearl divers Pearl hunting, also known as pearl fishing or pearling, is the activity of recovering or attempting to recover pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in India and Japan for tho ...

from the region, weaving through currents of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. It is the official headquarters of the football club

Al-Wakrah SC Al-Wakrah Sport Club () is a Qatari multi sports club, multi-sports club based in the city of Al Wakrah. Their professional association football, football team competes in the Qatar Stars League. They play their home games at the Al Janoub ...

, where the matches of the

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

are held. The capacity of the stadium is 20,000; the capacity was 40,000 before the World Cup. The stadium is located about 22 km south of

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

History

Qatar was chosen to host the

in 2010, becoming the first Muslim country and the first country in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

to host the World Cup. Qatar previously did not have the sporting capability for the Cup, and 8 new stadiums were built for the Cup. The stadium was inaugurated on 16 May 2019, during the 2019 Amir Cup final between

Al Sadd SC Al Sadd Sports Club () is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd (Qatar), Al Sadd district of the capital city Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the top level of Qatari football, the Qatar Stars Leagu ...

and

Al-Duhail SC Al-Duhail Sports Club (), formerly Lekhwiya SC, is a Qatari sports club, best known for its football team, which plays in the Qatar Stars League. The club is based in the Duhail district in the city of Doha and plays its home games at Abdulla ...

played in front of an audience of 38,678 people, making it the second stadium to be completed after

. This match was attended by the Emir (head of state) of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The stadium hosted a semifinal match at the

24th Arabian Gulf Cup The 24th Arabian Gulf Cup was the 24th edition of the biennial football competition for the eight members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. Eight teams participated in the tournament. On 15 July 2019, the AGCFF announced that the tourna ...

. In December 2020, Al Janoub Stadium hosted the 2020 AFC Champions League Final. The stadium hosted six matches of the

2021 FIFA Arab Cup The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup () was the 10th edition of the FIFA Arab Cup, Arab Cup, the Arab world's national team Association football, football tournament; it was the first edition under FIFA's jurisdiction, with previous editions having been organi ...

Design

The stadium was designed by the architect Zaha Hadid, and her architectural firm,

Zaha Hadid Architects Zaha Hadid Architects is a British architecture and design firm founded by Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), with its main office situated in Clerkenwell, London. After the death of " starchitect" Hadid, Patrik Schumacher became head of the firm. At ...

. Zaha Hadid Architects stated that “The stadium was designed in conjunction with a new precinct so that it sits at the heart of an urban extension of the city, creating community-based activities in and around the stadium on non-event days.” According to the designers, the stadium's exterior was inspired by the sails of traditional

Dhow Dhow (; ) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels ...

boats, used by pearl divers from the region, weaving through currents of the

. The curvilinear roof and exterior references Al Wakrah's history of seafaring, additionally giving spectators the feeling on being on a ship. Bowed beams hold up the roof, resembling a ship's hull. The building is meant to resemble upturned dhow hulls arranged in a huddle to provide shade and shelter. Many observers have pointed out that the design resembles

female genitalia In mammals, the vulva (: vulvas or vulvae) comprises mostly external, visible structures of the female genitalia leading into the interior of the female reproductive tract. For humans, it includes the mons pubis, labia majora, labia minora, ...

—a claim Zaha Hadid dismissed as "embarrassing" and "ridiculous." The roof of the stadium is retractable, and is made from pleated PTFE fabric and cables, with the roof arches being 230 meters long. The cooling system prevents the stadium's users from overheating, due to Qatar's hot and arid climate. It is capable of cooling the spectator areas to 18°C and the field of play to 20°C. According to Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), "detailed micro-climate analysis informed the arena's shape, with aerodynamics and optimal shading from the roof, which incorporates a minimal amount of glass, making a significant contribution to temperature control."

Facilities

The sports complex includes a multipurpose room, with swimming pools and spas and a shopping center with green roofs. The entrance to the stadium will be on a wooded square. A school, wedding hall, cycling, horse riding and running tracks, restaurants, marketplaces and gyms within the vicinity are planned to be built to accompany Al Janoub Stadium.

Proposed renovations

After the

, Al Janoub Stadium is the

's home, instead of the current

Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium The Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani Stadium (), also known as Al-Wakrah SC Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It is the home venue of Al-Wakrah Sports Club. The stadium has ...

. The seating capacity is planned to be halved from 40,000 to 20,000 and used for

matches. Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy has claimed that the remaining half of the stadium's seats will be donated to developing countries in need of sporting infrastructure.

Recent tournament results

24th Arabian Gulf Cup

2021 FIFA Arab Cup

2022 FIFA World Cup

The Al Janoub Stadium hosted seven matches during the

2023 AFC Asian Cup

On 5 April 2023, the Al Janoub Stadium was chosen as one of eight (then nine) venues for the

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involved 24 national teams after its expansion in 20 ...

. It hosted six matches.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al Janoub Stadium Wakrah Stadium Wakrah Stadium Football venues in Qatar Retractable-roof stadiums 2019 establishments in Qatar Sports venues completed in 2019