Al Thumama Stadium

Al Thumama Stadium stands in the Al Thumama district of Doha, about 13 km south of the city centre and close to Hamad International Airport. It was built as one of the eight venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and opened in October 2021 with the final of the Amir Cup.

The stadium was designed by Ibrahim Jaidah, chief architect of the Arab Engineering Bureau, who became the first Qatari architect to design a World Cup stadium. Its round shape and white woven pattern are based on the gahfiya, the traditional knitted cap worn by men across the Arab world under the ghutra headdress.

The exterior is wrapped in a lattice that recalls the stitching of the cap, and the bowl inside is cooled for spectators and players. During the World Cup the stadium seated about 40,000 people and staged eight matches, from the group stage to the quarter-finals. The highest attendance, 44,198, came at the quarter-final between Morocco and Portugal on 10 December 2022, when Morocco became the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final.

After the tournament about half of the seats were planned to be removed and donated to football projects in other countries, leaving a smaller venue for local clubs and community use, with parkland around the stadium.

The stadium is open on match and event days, with tickets sold through the organisers. There are no regular public tours on record. The nearest Doha Metro stop is Free Zone station on the Red Line, a walk of about 15 minutes, with extra shuttles on event days.

Which matches has Al Thumama Stadium hosted?

Al Thumama Stadium staged eight matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The run opened with Senegal against the Netherlands on 21 November and included Spain's 7 to 0 win over Costa Rica, the United States' 1 to 0 win over Iran and France's 3 to 1 round of 16 win over Poland. Morocco played three times here, beating Belgium, Canada and finally Portugal.

The stadium was built by a joint venture of Al Jaber Engineering of Qatar and Tekfen Construction of Turkey, with Schlaich Bergermann Partners and Thornton Tomasetti on the structure. Around the bowl lies a public park of about 50,000 square metres.

Before the World Cup it hosted six matches of the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup. After it, the venue was used for six games of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, played between 14 January and 7 February 2024, including the semi-final in which Qatar beat Iran 3 to 2 on the way to keeping their title.