Brazil’s departure is farewell to the stadium that was the apple of Qatar’s eye

Those who access stadium 974 via the Ras Abu Aboud metro station will see the welcome message painted on a shipping container.

It is the 974th metallic structure used in the construction of the 974th stadium, the arena that represents the entire message that Qatar wants to convey when hosting this year’s World Cup.

He received seven tournament matches. The last one was this Monday (5), Brazil’s 4-1 victory over South Korea, in the round of 16. After the game, volunteers who worked in the arena cried in the stands.

It wasn’t just the farewell to the tournament. It was the last game at the venue. The only one at the Worlds that did not disclose the construction cost, the arena will be 100% dismantled from December 19th, the day after the end of the competition.

It is the first detachable stadium used in the World Cup.

To help with the marketing of the event, the use of 974 containers in the structure was announced. This is the international direct dialing code for Qatar. Designed by the Spanish studio Fenwick Irribarren, the stadium tried to convey a message of sustainability, modernity, intelligent use of resources and collaboration with developing countries.

All stadiums built or refurbished in Qatar try, in theory, to convey a message. Be it a reference to the culture or history of the country. Some resulted in unintended controversy. The Al Janoub, in which the ceiling simulates a veil, caused discomfort in the organization of the Cup because it began to be compared on social networks with female genitalia.

The 974 was, for the Supreme Committee of Delivery and Legacy, responsible for holding the Worlds, the apple of an eye.

Containers ship to the nearby port. The boldness of the design is the modernity of the Qatar 2030 project, a plan to transform the nation into a tourist hub, more influential in world geopolitics, and do away with the image of a territory that only extracts oil and natural gas.

On the wave of sustainability, the country seeks to show with the 974 that it collaborates with the environment. Buildings and large structures are responsible for 40% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.

The parts of the collapsible arena will be used in an infrastructure project (perhaps even a new stadium) to be carried out in another location. One of the possibilities is Uruguay, if the idea of ​​the South American country applying to host the 2030 World Cup advances. Another is an African country.

All that effort and the spending of millions were for marketing, image, geopolitics and hosting seven matches.

Despite little use, the arena caused a sensation during the World Cup. The CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) filed a complaint with FIFA (International Football Federation) because of the lawn. The entity agreed that the field left something to be desired.

Tite’s selection was not the only one.

“The field is very irregular. The ball is too fast, bounces and escapes”, complained Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister.

Unlike the other seven stadiums used in the World Cup, 974 had no artificial cooling system. It was concluded that it would not make sense for a work to be dismantled in such a short time.

The only arena that will be fully preserved after the competition will be the Khalifa International Stadium.

With an incipient national league, Qatar began the construction of the structures for the Cup already with the right destination for the stadiums.

There is what will become a luxury hotel (Al Bayt). Another will be reformulated in an area with smaller fields, sports clinics and different schools (Lusail). Education City will be donated to the University of Qatar and used by the women’s team.

Al Janoub will host Al Wakrah, the local league team. The same goes for Al Rayyan, which will be managed by a team of the same name. Al Thumama will be made up of schools and sports clinics.

All but Khalifa will have their capacity reduced by at least half.