Khalifa International Stadium

Khalifa International Stadium (, , ) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Al Rayyan, Qatar, around west from the centre of Doha. Its ground comprises a running track and a grass pitch. Opened in 1976, the stadium was named after then- Emir of Qatar Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, and under the ownership of the Qatar Football Association, 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 complex and added a roofed grandstand; boosting its capacity from 20,000 to 40,000.

Khalifa has hosted numerous international association football and athletics events throughout its history. Track and field events at the 2006 Asian Games, 2011 Pan Arab Games, and 2019 World Athletics Championships were held at the stadium, and World Athletics has since organised the annual Doha Diamond League event there as part of its Diamond League series. In the future, Khalifa is planned to host track and field events at the 2030 Asian Games. In association football, the stadium hosted matches during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, and three editions of the Arabian Gulf Cup. The final of the Emir of Qatar Cup is also occasionally played at the stadium.

History

Khalifa International Stadium opened in 1976, ahead of the 4th Arabian Gulf Cup, 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. Sixteen years later, the stadium once again hosted all 15 games of the 11th Arabian Gulf Cup in 1992, which saw hosts Qatar win the Arabian Gulf Cup the very first time.

A 2021 investigation by ''The Guardian'' revealed that over 6,500 migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka died between 2010 and 2020 during construction of World Cup venues in Qatar. The figures used by ''The Guardian'' did not include occupation or place of work so deaths could not be definitively associated with the World Cup construction programme, but "a very significant proportion of the migrant workers who have died since 2011 were only in the country because Qatar won the right to host the World Cup." Commenting on the investigation, ''Construction News'' noted, first, a 2014 BBC ''Newsnight'' investigation that claimed migrant workers employed by Carillion subcontractors in Qatar were forced to work in unsafe conditions and had wages withheld; secondly, it recalled a 2019 report by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre showing construction firms working in Qatar and the UAE were "failing" to protect workers' rights – firms included former Carillion subsidiary Al-Futtaim Carillion, Interserve, Laing O'Rourke, Multiplex and Vinci QDVC.

In preparation for Doha's hosting of the 2006 Asian Games, Khalifa International Stadium was renovated with a complete remodelling of the stadium's western stand, which transformed it into a grandstand with a second tier and a new roof that covered all the seats. Over the eastern side, a large arch with additional light fixtures were added, which was used as a platform; this was used during the games' opening ceremony to launch fireworks from. The stadium's reconfiguration in 2005 was part of the larger Doha Sports City urban renewal project in Al Rayyan, later known as the Aspire Zone complex. Today, it includes the Aspire Academy, Hamad Aquatic Centre, and the Aspire Tower. The ceremonies and track and field events of the 2011 Pan Arab Games were also held at Khalifa a few years later.

After the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup 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, 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 of the Middl