World Cup organisers finally lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding alcohol in September, confirming ticket holders will have access to Budweiser (the competition’s official beer sponsor) within stadium compounds prior to kick-off and after the final whistle. The legal drinking age is 21 in Qatar.
However only non-alcoholic Budweiser Zero (as well as soft drinks and limited food options) will be available at concourse concession stands within the stadium bowls. Fans should expect lengthy queues, since bringing your own food or drinks (including water) into the stadiums is banned.
No matter which stadium you’re heading to, bring something warm – if the under-seat air-conditioning systems are in action – as experienced during local qualifying matches – it might leave you shivering with more than excitement, especially if your seats are close to the pitch.
All travellers aged six and above must present a negative Covid PCR test (taken no more than 48 hours before travel) or a rapid antigen test (no more than 24 hours before travel); self-tests are not permitted. Proof of vaccination is not required.
Visitors must also download and register via Ehteraz, the Qatar ministry of public health’s pre-registration platform at least three days before arrival and complete and sign an “undertaking and acknowledgement form.”
World Cup ticket holders must also apply for Hayya ID card to be able to enter Qatar from 1 November and to use free public transport on match days.
It is not permitted to bring alcohol into Qatar. Fans should avoid travelling with alcohol from their country of origin or purchasing duty free products en route to avoid confiscation upon arrival.
There is zero-tolerance to drugs. Penalties for the use, trafficking, smuggling and possession of drugs (even residual amounts) are severe.
Qatar also prohibits the importation, sale and purchase of electronic cigarettes, liquids and other similar products.
Capacity: 80,000 seats.
Key matches: Quarter-final (9 December), semi-final (13 December), grand final (18 December).
Closest metro station: Lusail QNB (red line, 15-minute walk).
The largest World Cup arena by 20,000 seats, Lusail Stadium is suitably spectacular, its golden geometric cladding designed by the UK’s Foster + Partners to represent a burnished Islamic vessel. While punters in the cheap seats might find themselves squinting at the field of play, huge screens suspended from the cantilevered roof will offer a close-up.
Conveniently connected by metro to central Doha, 20km (12 miles) to the south, Lusail Stadium is among the competition’s more easily accessible venues. The master-planned city of Lusail is still a construction site, but there are a few local attractions worth checking out, including the recently-opened Place Vendome, an enormous shopping mall modelled on the famed Parisian retail precinct.
And you can’t miss the scimitar sword-shaped Katara Towers building, housing two soon-to-open hotels, a Fairmont and a Raffles.
Capacity: 60,000 seats.
Key matches: England vs USA Group B match (25 November), Spain vs Germany Group E match (27 November), semi-final (2 December).
Closest metro station: Lusail QNB (red line, 27-minute drive).
Rising up out of the desert like a giant Bedouin tent (locally known as a bayt al sha’ar), Al Bayt is the most remote World Cup stadium, 50km (31 miles) north of central Doha.
It also plays up to Qatar’s heritage quite unlike any other venue, with the exterior sporting the distinctive black stripes of a traditional Bedouin tent, and the seating bowl (covered by a retractable roof) resembling a giant red Arabian carpet.
The stadium sits outside the small city of Al Khor, but you’re better off planning pre- and post-match celebrations in more lively Doha, where the Fifa Fan Festival™ compound in Al Bidda Park will serve alcohol from 6.30pm. Most of Doha’s hotel bars serve alcohol from around noon.
While it only takes 25 minutes to drive to Al Bayt from Lusail QNB metro station in typical traffic, expect shuttles to take longer on match days.
Capacity: 40,000 seats.
Key matches: England vs Iran Group B match (20 November), match for third place (17 December).
Closest metro station: Sport City (gold line, 5-minute walk).
Set in the 88-hectare Aspire Park – Doha’s largest green space – 10km (6 miles) from the city centre, the grand dame of the World Cup stadiums (home to Qatar’s national football team) has been hosting major events since 1976, with a renovation completed in 2017 bringing Khalifa International Stadium up to World Cup hosting standards.
In the same complex is the brand-new 3-2-1 Olympic and Sports Museum. Despite Doha having been twice-snubbed from hosting the Olympic Games, the high-tech, interactive museum is worth a look-in, with an impressive collection spanning a recreated Roman racing chariot to a soccer ball from England’s 1888 FA Cup Final.
Directly southwest of the stadium, the Venetian-inspired Villaggio Mall is a good place to grab a pre-match feed. You can also take a gondola ride in its indoor canal.
Capacity: 40,000 seats.
Closest metro station: Al Riffa/Mall of Qatar (green line, 10-minute walk).
Key matches: USA vs Wales Group B match (20 November), Iran vs Wales Group B match (25 November), England vs Wales Group B match (29 November).
Also known as Al Rayyan – after the stadium that formerly stood in the same location, 20km (12 miles) west of the city centre – Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium neighbours the vast Mall of Qatar, which has an international food court that’s handy for pre-match dining. The district’s only hotel, a Hilton, doesn’t serve alcohol.
Home to the Al-Rayyan Sports Club (best known for its soccer team), Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium’s exterior façade glows with a mesmerising LED display during events, making it one of the most striking stadiums to behold during night-time matches.
Capacity: 40,000 seats.
Key matches: Quarter-final (9 December).
Closest metro station: Education City (green line, 5-minute walk).
The brainchild of Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned – the consort of former emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani – the sprawling Education City district, 12km (7.5 miles) northwest of central Doha, feels like a futuristic ivy-league campus. Its striking modern buildings house – as you might have guessed – a clutch of higher learning institutes.
Surrounded by verdant parklands, the new Education City Stadium’s geometric patterned exterior shimmers in the harsh desert sunlight like a giant jewel.
With no local bars (the neighbourhood’s only hotel, a Premier Inn, doesn’t serve alcohol), the Fifa Fan Festival™ (accessible via the same metro line) is a convenient post-match venue.
Capacity: 40,000 seats.
Key matches: France vs Denmark Group D match (26 November).
Closest metro station: Ras Bu Abboud (gold line, 30-minute walk).
Built from shipping containers, Stadium 974 sits on the edge of Ras Bu Abboud Beach, a seaside leisure destination in the making just 4km (2.5 miles) east of the city centre.
Designed to be dismantled after the World Cup, the stadium named after Qatar’s international dialing code is somewhat more basic than other venues, albeit with all the necessary tech – but ticket holders earn bragging rights for catching up to seven matches in the world’s first fully demountable covered football stadium.
If you can’t face another Budweiser, the bars of the sprawling Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village are a 20-minute walk away.
Capacity: 40,000 seats.
Key matches: Iran vs USA Group B match (29 November), Quarter-final (10 December).
Closest metro station: Free Zone (red line, 10-minute drive).
Despite its hefty distance from the closest metro station (6km/4 miles), ultra-modern Al Thumama is one of Doha’s most centrally located stadiums. Just 11km (7 miles) from the city centre, it’s only a short hop from Doha’s hotel bars and the Fifa Fan Festival™ site and Arcadia Spectacular, a pop-up music festival (near Ras Bu Fontas metro station) that will feature the 50-tonne fire-breathing spider best known for its appearances at Glastonbury, live music and DJs.
With a circular, intricately patterned exterior reflecting the gahfiya (the traditional woven cap worn by males across the Arab world) the bright white stadium, surrounded by parkland, is set to host six group matches, one round of 16 and a quarter-final.
Capacity: 40,000 seats.
Key matches: All three Australia Group D matches, including France v Australia (22, 26 and 30 November).
Closest metro station: Al Wakrah (red line, 12-minute drive).
Designed by the UK’s Zaha Hadid Architects (of London Aquatics Centre fame), Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, 20km (12 miles) south of Doha, has been said to resemble everything from a bicycle helmet to a woman’s genitalia. But the harmonious flowing design is actually a nod to the dhow, the pearl fishing boats that are an iconic symbol of Qatar, with the timber used in the stadium’s construction also paying homage to the nation’s seafaring heritage.
With the closest metro station 5km (3 miles) from the stadium, you’ll likely be relying on a shuttle or taxi to get you at least some of the way to the stadium, set to host six Group matches and one Round of 16. If you’ve got time to kill, make a short detour to Al Wakrah’s pleasant oceanfront souk.
Post-match, it’s just a 10-minute taxi ride to Aravia, another pop-up music festival with a packed line-up of local and international DJs due to hit the decks near Al Wakra metro station every night from 21 November until 18 December.
Capacity: 40,000
Dates: 20 November to 18 December, daily until 2am; from 10am until 28 November; from 3pm thereafter apart from 5pm on rest days
Closest metro station: Corniche (red line, 20-minute walk) for entry only; Al Bidda (red and green lines, 20-minute walk) and West Bay-Qatar Energy (red line, 30-minute walk) for exit
Admission to the fan festival at Al Bidda Park will be free of charge, with matches displayed on giant screens, as well as concerts and cultural activities. The park is in the Rumaila area near Doha Bay and overlooking the Corniche.
Organisers have confirmed that Budweiser will be available to purchase from 6.30pm, and Budweiser Zero and Coca-Cola products throughout the day.
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