DOHA (Qatar): The Khalifa International Stadium (KIS) will host three additional matches during the FIFA Club World Cup 2019 after the official opening of Education City Stadium was postponed until early 2020.
Qatar has postponed to next year the opening of Education City stadium, its second newly built venue for the 2022 football World Cup, FIFA said on Saturday.
The venue was due to be inaugurated when it hosted the semifinal of the Club World Cup between Liverpool and an as yet undetermined side on December 18.
But delays to the certification of the stadium by the authorities will mean that the fixture will instead be played at KIS, which was due to host several Club World Cup fixtures.
Education City will now be opened in 2020 although the world football governing body did not give an exact date.
“Construction at Education City stadium is complete and the venue is now operational,” FIFA said in a statement.
In addition to the double-header of games on December 17, the fifth-place play-off and the semi-final involving CONMEBOL Libertadores winners CR Flamengo at KIS, the venue will also host the second semifinal involving Liverpool December 18 along with the final and third-place play-off on December 21.
“However, the necessary certification process took longer than expected and therefore the stadium was unable to host the required test events prior to the semi-final and final of the FIFA Club World Cup at full capacity.
“The priority is to ensure an enjoyable experience for all fans so it was decided to open the stadium at a later date.”
KIS has a capacity of 45,416 and reopened in May, 2017 following a successful redevelopment to prepare it for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Three years ahead of the start of the 2022 tournament, Qatar has already launched the brand new 40,000-capacity Al Janoub stadium.
