The floor of football stadiums in Qatar has received widespread praise at the level of players, coaches and sports bodies, after it received many football competitions, the latest of which was the Arab Cup, which is the last rehearsal before Qatar hosts the 2022 World Cup, in a historic event for the first time in the Arab region and the Middle East.
Maintaining the quality and freshness of the grass was not a coincidence, but the result of continuous work and the use of the latest technology around the world, and the use of experts over the past 14 years to improve the quality of the grass and increase the number of football fields to receive the World Cup, which needs many stadiums for training next to the official matches.
Experts are currently working on the maintenance of 144 diverse stadiums, divided into 8 main stadiums that will host the World Cup matches, and 136 training grounds, by pumping cold air directly from special devices onto the grass, to show the bright green that lends a special luster to Qatari stadiums throughout the year.
#974 Stadium is ready 😍 pic.twitter.com/VB8LRJl6oS
— Road to 2022 (@roadto2022) November 20, 2021
How are Qatar stadiums maintained?
Haitham al-Sharif, a Sudanese civil engineer who has been working in Qatar stadiums since 2007, said, "The weather, along with the high performance standards we set for ourselves, makes it very difficult to develop the product we need, but we succeeded."
Preparing the turf for the World Cup stadiums, which is being held for the first time in the Middle East, is a very costly process from an environmental point of view.
Al-Sharif said that Qatar transports 140 tons of grass seeds annually from the United States on planes specially equipped for this matter, and the stadiums are irrigated with desalinated sea water.
He added that each stadium needs 10,000 liters of desalinated water per day in winter and 50,000 liters in summer.
Al Thumama Stadium from design to reality 😍# Qatar 2022 🏆 pic.twitter.com/jH1fJOnh09
— Road to 2022 (@roadto2022) November 6, 2021
Treat any damage
The World Cup kicks off for 28 days next November, in the most challenging period of the year for the grass, as the weather in Qatar turns from summer to mild winter, ideal for sports activities.
Some grass species are affected by rising temperatures and also by changing weather with the onset of winter, making adequate growth a challenge between matches.
Therefore, stadium experts come early in the winter in September in a stunt that has resulted over the past three years in stadiums that can be relied on for a long time.
A tour of @AlsaddSC coach Xavi and @AlrayyanSC coach Laurent Blanc at #Al Thumama_Stadium ahead of Friday's most expensive cup final kicks off #Prince_Cup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/EXttPFaXlZ
— Road to 2022 (@roadto2022) October 20, 2021
Fighting fungi and reserve grass
And a stadium consultant in the European Football Association (UEFA), said that Qatar has addressed the risk of the spread of fungi and diseases through a maintenance system that includes a mixture of chemicals and special lawn mowers, in addition to an underground system that absorbs excess moisture.
Qatar says it is ready to meet any emergency related to the grass.
There is a reserve of grass with an area of 425,000 square meters, enough to cover about 40 football fields, which are planted in a huge nursery located north of the capital, Doha.
Mohamed Al-Atwan, who worked as the director of the 974th World Cup Stadium, said that the grass can be harvested, transported and furnished in the stadium in just less than 8 hours.
Al Bayt Stadium 😍# Qatar_2022 🏆 pic.twitter.com/faotn8s2nV
— Road to 2022 (@roadto2022) November 13, 2021