Have you ever heard about a stadium that can be transported to another nation to host a game? Yes, it is possible now.
‘Stadium 974’ is the first and only stadium in the history of football that can be molded and transported to another nation. It has been a centre of attraction since the start of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
‘Stadium 974’ is currently based at Ras Abu Aboud Stadium in Qatar. The stadium was designed by Fenwick Iribarren. At first, the name of the stadium was announced as Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, but during a launch on November 20, 2021, it was officially renamed ‘Stadium 974’.
A total of seven FIFA World Cup games were held at ‘Stadium 974’, with Brazil defeating South Korea 4-1 on December 5 in the round of 16 being the final game of those. The stadium will be dismantled, and no other matches will be played in this stadium due to FIFA’s guidelines on the stadium.
FIFA’s guidelines state that to host a World Cup, there should be a primary stadium with a minimum capacity of 80,000 people to host the final, at least one stadium with a minimum capacity of 60,000 to host a semifinal, and a stadium with a minimum capacity of 40,000 to host the other knockout matches.
The stadium will disappear after this as Qatar which will soon host the Asian Games, the Asian Cup, and possibly even the Olympics and the venue will be used for those games.
The stadium was constructed using 974 recycled shipping containers. It is the only World Cup stadium in Qatar that does not have air conditioning. The international dialling number for Qatar is also the name of the stadium, 974.