England’s training site with built-in wedding hall and school will host 7 games
England have touched base in Doha and arrived at the Al-Janoub Stadium, where they have been training in preparation for the Qatar World Cup.
Hundreds greeted the Three Lions as they arrived at the team hotel earlier this week and they have now got their first taste of action in one the stadiums that will play host to matches over the next month or so. And it was only opened as early as 2019 designed by famous Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.
As well as hosting seven World Cup matches in total during the Qatari competition, the Al-Janoub Stadium – formerly known as the Al-Wakrah Stadium – can hold 40,000 in total. It has a retractable roof inspired by the traditional Dhow boats used in the Persian Gulf but has many other purposes that are not that usual for your average football stadium.
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The sports complex includes a multipurpose room, fully equipped with swimming pools and spas – as well as a shopping centre with green roofs. But that is not all, with the vicinity of the Al-Janoub Stadium accompanying various other facilities too.
There is a school and a wedding hall on the grounds, as well as horse riding and running tracks. Nearby, there are also a selection of restaurants and gyms, making the entire complex something of a mini-village.
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England will kick off their World Cup campaign next Monday when they take on Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium, another sports stadium with a massive complex on the grounds.
Meanwhile, Gareth Southgate has insisted that this could be England's greatest tournament. “With the players we want to talk to them about the excitement of going to a World Cup,” the Three Lions boss said.
“We understand the need to comment on the off-field things that surround this tournament, but we want the players to feel that enthusiasm that they’ve had since kids.
"We want to fuel that. The first couple of days we won’t be on the training pitch, bar a couple [of players] that will need to do something.
"We want them to transition from a hectic club schedule to thinking about England. We want to talk to them about the fact that this, whatever happens over the next four weeks, has been the second-best period for English football. We can make it the best.
“It’s the challenge mindset. How can we take the supporters on another journey, like the one they loved four years ago and loved last summer? That’s why we do it and that’s what makes playing for England special.”
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