Last-minute venue change bid adds intrigue before Asian Cup semifinal
DOHA: In an interesting development surrounding the Asian Cup 2023 venues, which have seen some huge attendances so far, reports from Qatar indicate a genuine attempt to change the stadium for the highly anticipated semifinal between Qatar and Iran.
The proposed shift aimed to move the match from Al Thumama Stadium, with a capacity of around 44,000 seats, to the larger Al Bayt Stadium, which can house more than 68,000 fans.
Qatar has evidently enjoyed the home advantage throughout this tournament, with significant attendance figures, occupying four out of the top five spots in terms of audience numbers. The host nation’s notable run includes attendances of 82,490 vs Lebanon (Lusail), 63,753 vs Palestine (Al Bayt), 58,791 against Uzbekistan (Al Bayt), and 57,460 against Tajikistan (Al Bayt). The only Qatar game that was not hosted at the two biggest stadiums (Lusail and Al Bayt) was the group fixture against China, that saw 42,104 fans pass the turnstiles at Khalifa International Stadium.
The numbers are truly fascinating; this is something Qatar has never seen before at this scale consistently for their national team games, not counting the World Cup. The big difference now is that the team and the public in general seem to have fallen back in love with football after the disappointment of the World Cup performance.
Two of those World Cup defeats, the opener against Ecuador and the final group game against the Netherlands, came at Al Bayt, so it is interesting how Qatar have now seemingly turned the venue into a beloved fortress following the pain of 2022.
At this point, especially after that nervy and emotional shootout victory over Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals, speculation emerged that there would be an attempt to move the venue for the semifinal to Al Bayt, citing the bigger capacity.
It would, of course, be a controversial move, considering that Omani fans had raised a similar concern for their final two group games, which were both held at Abdullah bin Khalifa, the smallest venue of the tournament, with a maximum capacity of just around 10,000. Their concern was not reciprocated by a gesture from the organisers, although it remains to be seen if their opponents would have agreed.
Coming back to Qatar, a popular local media personality Mohammed Al Kaabi, known simply as ‘Qatari’ on social media, passionately argued for the move to Al Bayt, deeming it “unthinkable” for the national team to play in a 45,000-capacity stadium during the crucial semifinal.
As the speculation circulated, it became evident that officials in Qatar genuinely tried to make this venue change happen at the last minute. Reports suggest that ticket sales were temporarily halted, pending confirmation of the potential relocation to Al Bayt. However, any alteration hinged on Iran’s consent, and indications from Iranian journalist Dawood Ikdery’s statement now suggest that Team Melli is unwilling to agree to such a change.
At the time of writing, there is still more than 53 hours to go for the game, and we might still see a late turnaround (this is Qatar after all!) but for our team here at QFootLive, we can’t help but think back to the days when the national team would struggle to fill the 12,000 capacity Jassim bin Hamad Stadium. The change is extraordinary.
Let’s also keep in mind another important point: we have it on good authority that after the opening game at Lusail Stadium, the organisers had planned to switch the venue for the final from Lusail to Al Bayt. That would have been a significant downgrade in capacity, but apparently the intent for the move was to respond to fan concerns after arrangements for the opening game left many fans struggling to make their way to the enormous venue, and then face similar difficulties in trying to go home afterwards.
That said, Al Bayt is not without its share of detractors due to a similar accessibility problem. In any case, from what we could gather, it now seems that the venue shift for the final will not happen. Lighting equipment that had been removed from Lusail and sent to Al Bayt, are now being re-installed at Lusail. Is that because Qatar are now just one match away from making it to the final for a second consecutive edition, and they believe they may get even more fans in – so much so that they would prefer that over their new fortress? We have no idea.
Regardless of what happens in the next few days, the big question is if Qatar can actually sustain this interest that the public has in the team, and keep it going for the World Cup qualifiers and all the other upcoming tournaments, or will it all just fizzle out?
