Six of Qatar’s eight World Cup venues will be used for the Asian Cup to be played in the Gulf state next January, the AFC has confirmed.
However, the Lusail stadium used for the World Cup final and the unique 974 stadiums created from containers will not be part of the 24-nation competition to run from January 12 to February 10.
The Asian Cup was initially intended to be held this year in China but was shifted and postponed due to the country’s coronavirus restrictions.
Asian Football Confederation head Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa claimed that based on Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup last year the Asian Cup would be “a real spectacle never before witnessed in Asian football history.”
“We have every trust that they will exhibit their outstanding hosting skills, state-of-the-art infrastructure and gracious hospitality,” he said in remarks made when the Kuala Lumpur-based AFC revealed the dates late Wednesday.
Qatar will utilize the Al Janoub Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Education City Stadium and Khalifa International Stadium which were all part of the multi-billion dollar infrastructure built for the World Cup.
The smaller Jassim bin Hamad Stadium and Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium will also be utilised, the AFC added.
The 974 stadiums along the Doha seashore are slated to be destroyed and gifted to a developing nation. Several containers have already been carried away but officials have not yet stated where the stadium will move.
The 80,000 Lusail stadium where Argentina defeated France in the World Cup final on December 18 is also slated to be changed but Qatar has made no immediate indication of when the heat would commence.
