The ‘coolest’ part of FIFA World Cup 2022
The cooling technology at the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar is a first of its kind in world football; meet the doctor of this operation “cool”.
December is a pleasant month in Qatar.
The temperature reads 23 to 25 degrees in the morning and starts dipping from noon. Once the scorching sun starts its descent, people flip out their thin jackets and coats for a walk by the waterfront promenade.
This is good news as Qatar — the host for the FIFA World Cup in 2022 — is infamous for its heat, and many have cited the country’s soaring temperatures in questioning FIFA’s decision to award the quadrennial event to the Gulf state.
The World Cup, billed as perhaps the greatest sporting spectacle, earlier, too, has struggled to provide optimal playing conditions to the stars. In USA 1994, a few German and South Korean players felt the boiling turf through their shoes. The then Ireland manager Jack Charlton had to splash water on his players from the touchline. In Brazil 2014, the tournament witnessed cooling breaks.
But, Qatar 2022 is set for a winter release — a first-of-a-kind — but with the desert nearby and a record of 50 degrees in summer, the Arab nation found a home-grown solution that will accommodate football in every season. It will also minimise the risk of heat generation through player movement and action. The new ‘cooling technology’ could well make Qatar the ‘coolest’ World Cup host since England in 1966. The system will also serve as a model for prospective hosts in the future.
Sportstar visited The Khalifa International Stadium — the only complete superstructure, right now, for the grand event in 2022 — for a recce of the world’s first airconditioned open air property. Dr. Saud Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani, the engineer who led the innovation, highlighted the benefits and simplified the function of the air nozzles.
How it works
In a layman’s words, the system will act as larger-than-life air coolers for heat dissipation.
“Just because the tournament is in December, don’t think there won’t be heat. It is all about the thermal component. I can put you in a nice fridge at six degrees. You will feel stuffy although the temperature is cold. There will be no movement of air inside. We control the humidity first, and temperature second.
“If you are a player running around, you are generating heat. It will be trapped in your body and the thermal stress may knock