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By Jerome Pugmire

The Associated Press

One of the聽World Cup聽stadiums in Qatar is named after the Persian Gulf country鈥檚 international dialing code 鈥� 974 鈥� and another is called 鈥淓ducation City.鈥� They鈥檙e unusual names that hardly sound like they have links to soccer, and after the tournament many no longer will.

Qatar built seven of its eight lavish World Cup stadiums and heavily renovated the other. The smallest World Cup host nation since Switzerland in 1954, Qatar has a population of 2.6 million (including only 360,000 Qatari citizens) and a limited domestic league.

So, it鈥檚 questionable it needs聽so many large venues聽after the tournament, especially after the past three World Cups 鈥� in South Africa, Brazil and Russia 鈥� exposed several stadiums without long-term use.

At least Stadium 974 in Ras Abu Aboud won鈥檛 become a white elephant, since it will disappear. The 40,000-seat arena located port-side just east of Doha was made from recycled shipping containers 鈥� 974 of them. The demountable, energy-efficient stadium will make way for a waterfront business development.

But many other stadiums won鈥檛 host any more soccer beyond this tournament and next summer鈥檚 Asian Cup 鈥� for which聽Qatar won hosting rights聽after host China withdrew citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only two top-tier teams from the Qatar Stars League 鈥� Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah 鈥� will play in their glitzy World Cup stadiums.

Most of this World Cup鈥檚 venues will have their capacity diminished from 40,000 to 20,000 post-tournament as part of a sustainability drive. Education City is 8 miles from Doha. After half the seats are removed, the venue will be used by 8,000 students across nine universities and 11 schools.

What will happen to those extra 20,000 seats?

鈥�(They) will be offered to countries who need sporting infrastructure,鈥� Ali Al Dosari, the stadium鈥檚 director of installations, stated in a press release. 鈥淭his will allow the culture of soccer to be promoted and to a greater extent the love of sport throughout the world.鈥�

Qatar pledged to give 170,000 removed seats to developing countries.

With its gold facade and 80,000 capacity, the gleaming Lusail Stadium will host 10 matches, including the final. It鈥檚 only 12.2 miles from Doha, but no club will call聽this vessel聽home. In keeping with sustainable development, its future lies as a community hub with housing units, shops, schools, cafes, and medical clinics. The upper tier will become outdoor terracing for new homes.

A similar fate awaits the tent-shaped Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor City, a 60,000-seater hosting the opener between Qatar and Ecuador on Nov. 20 and an eagerly anticipated tussle between England and the United States five days later.

The plan is for the upper tier to be removed after the tournament, allowing for further recommissioning of seats. A five-star hotel and a shopping center will be incorporated into the stadium building, and a sports medicine hospital will open.

It鈥檚 good use of existing infrastructure, no doubt, but hardly leaving a soccer legacy behind. For example, the four extra stadiums built for the 2016 European Championship in France 鈥� Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux and Nice 鈥� are being used by those club teams for the long term.

Al Thumama Stadium is another 40,000-seater close to Doha鈥檚 center. Its capacity will be halved and then the arena will be used for sporting events. A sports clinic and a hotel will open on site.

鈥業nnovative legacy plans鈥�

The 40,000-capacity Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, located 12.2 miles west of Doha in Umm Al Afaei, is home to Al Rayyan in the 12-team QSL and to second-tier Al-Kharitiyath Sports Club.

The 40,000-seat Al Janoub Stadium, meanwhile, is where France will begin its title defense against Australia on Nov. 22. Al Wakrah will carry on playing matches here in the QSL after the tournament with a reduced capacity of 20,000.

Khalifa International Stadium near central Doha dates to 1976 and was extensively renovated to hold 40,000 fans. The oft-used stadium has held the Arabian Gulf Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and the track and field world championships.

鈥淭he Khalifa Stadium will continue to host matches and big tournaments,鈥� stadium director Ahmad Al Thani said.

A recent written request by The Associated Press for more comment on the stadium legacies from the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy was declined.

SC Secretary General Hassan Al Thawadi previously said the stadiums all met sustainability benchmarks.

鈥淲e have recycled and reused wherever possible and implemented a vast range of energy and water efficiency solutions,鈥� he stated in聽a document on the stadiums. 鈥淲e have used materials from sustainable sources and implemented innovative legacy plans to ensure our tournament doesn鈥檛 leave any 鈥榳hite elephants.鈥欌��

So, although post-World Cup soccer legacy itself is likely to be low, it鈥檚 unlikely cash-rich Qatar will face similar financial and logistical problems of other nations.

Expensive elephants

The Montreal Olympic Stadium that hosted the 1976 Olympic Games became known as a white elephant that took 30 years to pay off.

Previous World Cup hosts are still shelling out, too.

After South Africa spent $1.1 billion on its 10 stadiums for the 2010 tournament, many were later left unused or underused. This proved highly expensive for city councils left footing the bill and ended up bleeding taxpayer money.

The $600 million Cape Town Stadium offered a spectacular view of Table Mountain, but for a hefty price. It has reportedly cost taxpayers in the region of $3.5 million a year, but legacy problems were partially resolved by sharing with the city鈥檚 Stormers rugby team and hosting international rugby games.

Brazil spent nearly $4 billion building and renovating venues for 2014. Four cities in Brazil were left with underused stadiums like the $550 million Mane Garrincha in Brasilia, which even hosted one game with just 400 spectators. The 46,000-capacity Arena Pernambuco in Recife does not have a team.

Russia鈥檚 $10.8 billion World Cup price tag was inflated by loss-making arenas with high yearly maintenance. Of the 12 stadiums from 2018, only eight host top-tier matches, generally with tens of thousands of empty seats, except at Zenit St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow鈥檚 stadiums.

Human cost

Qatar has been fiercely criticized for the聽physical and contractual conditions of workers, mostly from south Asia, needed to build stadiums, metro lines, roads, and hotels.

The exact number of migrant workers who have died or were injured working in often extreme heat on projects since FIFA picked Qatar as World Cup host in December 2010 is unclear. Definitive data has been hard to verify or not published by authorities.

Qatar has set up a workers鈥� support fund that, since 2020, has paid $164 million in compensation to more than 36,000 workers from 17 different countries, Human Rights Watch said in August, citing government data.

Editor’s note: AP sports writers James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf and Gerald Imray in Johannesburg contributed to this report.