The first Qatar 2022 venue to achieve a 5-star sustainability rating, the Education City stadium will be set to host FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ matches up to the quarter-finals stage. The stadium’s seating capacity during the tournament will be 40,000 but will be reduced to 20,000 after the completion of the tournament following the removal of the modular upper tier. The excess seats will then be donated to countries which lack sporting infrastructure – meaning the legacy of Qatar 2022 will be felt across the world.
beIN SPORTS’ English studio coverage will be presented by Andy Kerr on beIN SPORTS HD11 as Arabic studio coverage will be presented by Mohamed Saadon Al Kuwari and broadcast on beIN SPORTS News channel, Free to Air (FTA) channel and beIN SPORTS HD1. Between both English and Arabic studios, contributions will be made from a host of experts, legends and analysts including HE Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Nasser Al Khater, CEO of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Arsene Wenger, FIFA Chief of Global Football Development, Christian Seifert, Bundesliga CEO as well as the Belgian national football team head coach Roberto Martinez, Italian football legend Paolo Maldini, Egyptian legend and beIN analyst Mohamed Aboutrika and more.
Aside from the unveiling of the Education City stadium, both studios will also address matters related to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic with the Head of the Department of Communicable Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal and the Director of Player Welfare at the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Michael Bennett. beIN SPORTS’ English studio will also have a panel discussing the mental health issues that have arisen from the crisis as well as the economic and physical issues that the world’s sporting community is facing.
The Education City stadium becomes the third tournament-ready venue for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ following the successful redevelopment of Khalifa International Stadium in 2017 and the inauguration of Al Janoub Stadium last year.
With the Al Rayyan and Al Bayt stadiums expected to be completed by the end of 2020, Qatar 2022 now seems closer than ever. Commenting on the completion of the 3rd FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ stadium, beIN MEDIA GROUP’s Head of Sports Jonathan Whitehead said: “As the official broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup™, beIN SPORTS’ main focus is providing millions of viewers with an exceptional World Cup experience. With a strong and proud footprint in the Middle East, we are tremendously excited and can’t wait for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ to kick off right h e r e i n Qatar. As we move closer to the biggest sporting event in the history of this region, we are delighted to share this historic moment with our millions of viewers across MENA”.
Known as Qatar’s ‘diamond in the desert’, the facade of the Education City stadium features triangles that form complex, diamond-like geometrical patterns which appear to change colour with the sun’s movement across the sky.
Like diamonds, the stadium’s design represents quality, durability, and resilience – and will become something to be treasured, both for the memories it holds and its future value to the country. beIN entertains and operates in 43 countries globally, including 24 countries across the MENA region. With broadcast on satellite in 4K and Full HD, the beIN experience is also available on mobile, tablet, computer and other home d e v i c e s through beIN CONNECT.