Lusail Stadium

Lusail Stadium (Arabic: استاد لوسيل, ALA-LC: Istād Lūsayl) is a football stadium in Lusail, Qatar. Owned by the Qatar Football Association, it is the largest stadium in Qatar and the Middle East by capacity; one of eight stadiums built for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup final game between Argentina and France on 18 December 2022. As of 2022 it was the second largest football stadium in Asia, with a plan to eventually reduce capacity from 88,966 to 40,000. However, as of December 2025 this has yet to happen. The stadium is located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Doha, in the city of Lusail. Lusail Stadium was inaugurated on 9 September 2022 with the Lusail Super Cup game. Construction The Procurement process for the stadium conversion began in 2014. The stadium was built as a joint venture by HBK Contracting and the China Railway Construction Corporation. Like the other stadiums that planned the 2022 World Cup, the Lusail Stadium is cooled using solar power and is claimed to have zero carbon footprint. Construction began on 11 April 2017. Completion of the stadium was originally scheduled for 2020. It was then to host three friendly matches until the 2022 World Cup, but as the completion of the stadium was postponed, it is subsequently hosting 10 games including the final. Following the World Cup, it is expected to be reconfigured into a 40,000-seat stadium. Excess seating will be removed and other parts of the building repurposed as a community space with shops, cafés, athletic and education facilities, and a health clinic. Like other stadiums constructed for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Lusail Stadium received a five-star rating on 16 August 2022 for its design and construction from the GSAS. 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. Commenting on the investigation, Construction News recalled a 2014 BBC Newsnight investigation that claimed migrant workers were being forced to work in unsafe conditions and had wages withheld; nearly half of the deaths of Nepalese workers on the World Cup construction programme were blamed on heart attacks to avoid compensation payments. Hosted events Lusail Super Cup On 9 September 2022, the Lusail Stadium hosted the Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup, a tournament that served as a rehearsal for the World Cup finals, held between the two teams of Al Hilal, the 2021–22 Saudi Arabian champion, and Zamalek, the 2021–22 Egyptian champion, in front of 77,575 fans. The two sides played out 1–1 draw, with Al Hilal triumphing 4–1 after a penalty shootout. 2022 FIFA World Cup The Lusail Stadium hosted ten matches during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, including the final. 2023 AFC Asian Cup The Lusail Stadium hosted the opening match and the final of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup The Lusail Stadium hosted the final of the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. 2025 FIFA Arab Cup The Lusail Stadium hosted six matches including the final of the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup. 2026 Finalissima The Lusail Stadium was the planned host for the 2026 Finalissima, a match between Spain, winners of UEFA Euro 2024, and Argentina, winners of the 2024 Copa América. On March 27, 2026, UEFA announced the cancellation of the match due to safety concerns over the ongoing war in the region. See also Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail, Qatar Lists of stadiums References External links Lusail Stadium at Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup 2022 Schedule PDF