AL RAYYAN, QATAR (CelebrityAccess) — Officials with international soccer organization FIFA were forced to relocate a major soccer match in the Club World Cup after a new stadium in Qatar was not ready on time.
The game was to be held at the newly constructed Education City Stadium on Saturday but officials were forced to move the game to nearby Khalifa International Stadium, FIFA said in a statement.
“The necessary certification process took longer than expected and therefore the stadium was unable to host the required test events,” soccer’s world body said in a statement.
“The priority is to ensure an enjoyable experience for all fans, so it was decided to open the [Education City] stadium at a later date,” FIFA’s statement added.
The 45,350-seat is located amidst several university campuses at the Qatar Foundation’s Education City in Al Rayyan and was constructed in anticipation of Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Following the FIFA World Cup, the stadium will be scaled down to 25,000 seats and will be used by university athletic teams.
The official opening of the stadium has also been pushed back until early 2020.
