Education City Stadium is a football stadium located in Al Rayyan, a city in the municipality of its namesake, Al Rayyan, the third-largest municipality in the state of Qatar. The stadium is located within several university campuses at the Qatar Foundation’s Education City. It has been given the nickname “Diamond in the Desert”. The stadium’s facade is made up of triangles that form complex, diamond-like geometrical patterns that appear to change color as the sun moves across the sky. Like diamonds, the stadium’s design represents quality, durability, and resilience – and will be treasured for the memories it holds as well as its future value to the country. With 20 percent of its building materials identified as green, the stadium is among the world’s most environmentally sustainable stadiums.
Designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects and Pattern Design, the construction of the stadium started in 2016, and was inaugurated in June 2020 during a virtual event that paid tribute to frontline healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic. The first official match was played on 3 September 2020, in the Qatar Stars League. The capacity of the stadium is 40,000.
The stadium hosted matches at the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, East and West Zone matches of the 2020 AFC Champions League, and five matches at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.
During the World Cup, the stadium will host eight matches, six group stage games, round of 16 match and a quarter-final match.
Following the FIFA World Cup, the stadium’s modular upper tier will be removed, with the seats donated to a country which lacks sporting infrastructure. The capacity will be decreased to 25,000. The stadium will be used by university athletic teams.
