Education City Stadium

Education City Stadium stands among the university campuses of the Qatar Foundation's Education City in Al Rayyan, west of central Doha. It was built as a venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and was designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects with Pattern Design.

The stadium hosted its first official match on 3 September 2020, a Qatar Stars League game. Its exterior of triangular panels, which change colour with the sun and lighting, led to the nickname the Diamond in the Desert. It uses cooling technology to keep temperatures comfortable for players and fans.

During the World Cup the stadium held about 40,000 spectators and staged group matches, a round of 16 match and a quarter-final. It also hosted matches of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2020 and 2021.

After the tournament, the plan was to reduce capacity to about 25,000, with the removed seats donated to other countries, and to use the venue for university sport and community events. It was one of the first stadiums to receive a high sustainability rating under the Global Sustainability Assessment System.

Visitors usually see the stadium during matches, with tickets sold separately. Education City station on the Doha Metro Green Line serves the campus.

Eight 2022 World Cup matches and the record crowd

Education City Stadium staged eight matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, six in the group stage and two in the knockout rounds. The record crowd of 44,667 came on 6 December 2022, when Morocco drew 0-0 with Spain and then won the shoot-out 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Three days later Croatia knocked out Brazil here, 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The group games included South Korea beating Portugal 2-1 and Tunisia beating France 1-0. Those results made the stadium one of the busiest stories of the tournament for fans of Asian and African football.

Construction, engineers and green rating

Work started in 2016 and the stadium was completed in June 2020. Arup and Buro Happold were the structural engineers. About 20% of the building materials were classed as green, and in May 2019 the design received a five-star rating under the Global Sustainability Assessment System.

The venue has stayed busy since the World Cup. It hosted the final of the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, won by Bayern Munich against UANL, five matches of the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, six games of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and five more at the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup. The Qatar Foundation owns the stadium, and its legacy layout keeps about 25,000 seats for university teams, with two Qatar Foundation schools planned on the site.

Check the Qatar Stars League fixtures or the Qatar Football Association before you travel, as matches are the main way to get inside.