Education City Stadium – the ‘Diamond in the Desert’

The tiny state of Qatar will make history in November 2022 when it becomes the first Arab nation to host the prestigious FIFA World Cup. The project to create stadiums suitable for the competition has seem remarkable construction and conversion programs underway.

One of the most impressive of the stadiums – of which seven will be used during the World Cup – is Education City Stadium. Located across a number of university campuses, it is to be found in Qatar’s ‘Education City’ otherwise known as Al Rayyan.

The stadium, which will seat 40,000 for the World Cup, has earned the nickname ‘Diamond in the Desert’ thanks to the diamond-shaped motifs on the outer cladding. It is claimed that 20% of the materials included in the construction are ‘green’, making Education City one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable sporting stadia in the world.

Education City is a name given to the university area on the outskirts of the capital of Qatar, Doha. Qatar bid for the World Cup as part of a strategy to further establish the small nation on the world stage by way of involvement in international sport. The country hosted its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2021 as part of this strategy.

As hosts, the Qatar national football team gain automatic entry to the tournament and will play in the opening game which will be held in another of the magnificent stadiums, the Al Bayt Stadium which has a capacity of 60,000 people.

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