Khalifa International Stadium (, , ) is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

located in

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 ...

, Qatar, around west from the centre of

. Its ground comprises a

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

and a grass pitch. Opened in 1976, the stadium was named after then

Emir of Qatar The Emir of the State of Qatar () is the monarch and head of state of the country. The emir is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and guarantor of the Constitution. The emir holds the most powerful position in the country, and has a ...

Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani (; 17 September 1932 – 23 October 2016) was the Emir of Qatar from 1972 Qatari coup d'état, 27 February 1972 until he was deposed by his son Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Hamad bin Khalifa in a 1995 Qatari coup d'� ...

. Under the ownership of the

Qatar Football Association The Qatar Football Association () is the governing body of football in Qatar. The QFA was founded in 1960 and is based in Doha, Qatar. It became a member of FIFA in 1963 and of AFC in 1967. The Qatar Football Association organizes the main leag ...

, it serves as the primary home ground of the Qatar men's national football team. Its current fully-roofed, 45,857-seat configuration was opened in 2017, following a previous reconfiguration in 2005 that incorporated the stadium into the

Aspire Zone Aspire Zone, also known as Doha Sports City, is a sporting complex located in the Baaya district of Al Rayyan (city), Al Rayyan, Qatar. Owned by the Aspire Zone Foundation, it was established as an international sports destination in 2003 and ...

complex and added a roofed grandstand; boosting its capacity from 20,000 to 40,000. Khalifa has hosted numerous international

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

events throughout its history.

Track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

events at the

2006 Asian Games The 2006 Asian Games (), officially known as the XV Asiad or 15th Asian Games (, and commonly known as Doha 2006 (), were an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the ga ...

2011 Pan Arab Games The 2011 Arab Games also known as the 12th Arab Games took place in Doha, Qatar from 6 to 23 December 2011. This was the first time that the country had hosted the multi-sport event. Khalifa International Stadium was the main venue for the comp ...

, and

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global sport of athletics, athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athleti ...

were held at the stadium, and

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

has since organised the annual

Doha Diamond League The Doha Diamond League is an annual one-day track and field meeting held at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is part of the Diamond League – the top level international circuit for the sport. It is typically held in May as the ...

event there as part of its

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

series. In the future, Khalifa is planned to host track and field events at the

2030 Asian Games The 2030 Asian Games (), officially known as the 21st Asian Games () and commonly known as Doha 2030 (), will be the twenty-first edition of the Asian Games, a pan-Asian multi-sport event that scheduled to be held from 4 to 19 November 2030 in Do ...

. In association football, the stadium hosted matches during 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 ...

, the

2019 FIFA Club World Cup The 2019 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 presented by Alibaba Cloud for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club association football, fo ...

, the

1995 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1995 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 10th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It was held in Qatar from 13 to 28 April 1995. The tournament t ...

, the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

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 ...

, and three editions of the

Arabian Gulf Cup The Arabian Gulf Cup (, ''Kaʾs al-Khalīj al-ʿArabī''), also referred to simply as the Gulf Cup, is a biennial association football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member nations. The history of ...

. The final of the

Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup (), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by all first and second division teams in Qatar. The tournament is played in a knockout system, ...

is also occasionally played at the stadium.

History

Khalifa International Stadium opened in 1976, ahead of the

4th Arabian Gulf Cup The 4th Arabian Gulf Cup () was the fourth edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup. The tournament was held in Doha, Qatar and was won by the three-time defending champions Kuwait national football team, Kuwait. The tournament took place between 26 March ...

, with a mostly symmetrical stadium bowl and a basic roof covering the upper seats of the stadium's western stand. The stadium hosted all 22 games of the tournament, which was won by

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. Sixteen years later, the stadium once again hosted all 15 games of the

11th Arabian Gulf Cup The 11th Arabian Gulf Cup () was held in Qatar, in November 1992. The tournament was won by Qatar for the first time. Iraq were excluded from the tournament because of the invasion of Kuwait. Tournament The teams played a single round-robin ...

in 1992, which saw hosts Qatar win the Arabian Gulf Cup the very first time. Khalifa International Stadium

In preparation for Doha's hosting of the

, Khalifa International Stadium was renovated with a complete remodelling of the stadium's western stand, which transformed it into a

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators, typically at sports stadiums and including both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium i ...

with a second tier and a new roof that covered all the seats. Over the eastern side, a large arch with additional

light fixture A light fixture (US English), light fitting (UK English), or luminaire is an electrical lighting device containing one or more light sources, such as lamps, and all the accessory components required for its operation to provide illumination to ...

s were added, which was used as a platform; this was used during the games'

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

to launch

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

from. The stadium's reconfiguration in 2005 was part of the larger Doha Sports City

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

project in Al Rayyan, later known as the

complex. Today, it includes the

Aspire Academy Aspire Academy () is a sports academy based in the Aspire Zone in Qatar, founded in 2004 with the goal to scout and help develop Qatari athletes, whilst also providing them with secondary school education. History Aspire Academy was establis ...

Hamad Aquatic Centre Hamad Aquatic Centre is a large swimming pool complex in Doha, Qatar. The centre is housed in the Doha Sports City complex along with other buildings dedicated to sports in Qatar including the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, the Aspire Tower, ...

, and the

Aspire Tower Aspire Tower, also known as The Torch Doha, is a skyscraper hotel located in the Aspire Zone complex in Doha, Qatar. Designed by architect Hadi Simaan and AREP and engineer Ove Arup and Partners, the tower served as the focal point for the 15 ...

. The ceremonies and track and field events of the

were also held at Khalifa a few years later. After the rights to host the

were awarded to Qatar in December 2010, Khalifa International Stadium was reconfigured again to stage matches during the tournament. An initial plan to upgrade the stadium's capacity to at least 68,000 was mulled but later revised. The final design by international architecture firm

Dar Al-Handasah Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners; ) is a privately owned international consulting company active in engineering, architecture, planning, environmental consulting, project and construction management, facilities management, and econ ...

, saw the stadium's capacity boosted to 45,857 with the addition of a new tier on the eastern stand, and a new roof covering the entire stadium was built. Upon its reopening in 2017, it became the first stadium to receive a four-star rating from the FIFA-endorsed

Global Sustainability Assessment System The Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) riginally QSASis the first performance-based system in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, developed for assessing and rating buildings and infrastructure for their sustainability im ...

of the Middle East and North Africa, and was the first of the eight venues of the FIFA World Cup to open. Since its reopening, the stadium hosted the

, and three matches of the

, including its

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Speciality

Khalifa International stadium was the first one to get inaugurated during last year's Amir cup finals. It has long been the cornerstone of the country's sporting tradition with its unique geography and advanced transport systems. Khalifa International stadium has set a benchmark. However, its most significant feature is its roof which covers over 70 per cent of the stadium. The roof is designed with EFTE and

PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, and has numerous applications because it is chemically inert. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemours, a spin-off fro ...

materials. Although it is not retractable like other stadiums, it can still provide sufficient shade for fans.However, the distinctive feature of the Khalifa Stadium is its two roof arches. These arches are located on the east and west side of the stadium, which is over 120metre high. Furthermore, it is also fitted with cooling units that span around the stadium. The cooling system can drop the temperature down to 24 degrees during matches. In addition, the latest renovation also saw the installation of LED pitch lights and a digital floodlight.

Renovation

The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and the

Foundation collaborated to renovate the stadium, which got underway in 2014. It involved building a sports museum (3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum), expanding the east wing of the stadium's stands to accommodate 48,000 spectators, adding hospitality and VIP suites, installing a state-of-the-art roof that covers every stand in the stadium, and installing cooling technology that uses 40% less energy than traditional stadium cooling technology to maintain the field's ideal temperature of 26 degrees all year round.

International matches

Tournament results

4th Arabian Gulf Cup (1976)

11th Arabian Gulf Cup (1992)

1998 Arab Cup

2011 AFC Asian Cup

The Khalifa International Stadium hosted six matches during the

2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the secon ...

, including the

24th Arabian Gulf Cup (2019)

2022 FIFA World Cup

The Khalifa International Stadium hosted eight matches during the

, including the

third place play-off Many sports playoffs and knockout tournaments include a third place playoff, third place match, bronze medal game, or consolation game to decide which competitor or team will be credited with finishing third and fourth. This game is typically com ...

2023 AFC Asian Cup

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

in Qatar.

Friendly

References

External links

Khalifa International Stadium
at Qatar 2022 {{Authority control Football venues in Qatar 1976 establishments in Qatar Asian Games athletics venues Athletics (track and field) venues in Qatar Diamond League venues Multi-purpose stadiums in Qatar

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 ...

Sports venues completed in 1976 Sport in Al Rayyan Stadiums of the Asian Games Venues of the 2006 Asian Games Venues of the 2030 Asian Games