Qatar’s organising committee for the 2022 Fifa World Cup has stated it is considering reducing the number of proposed host stadiums to an amount that better reflects the ‘size of the country’.  

“The process of selecting the final proposed line-up of host venues is ongoing in consultation with Fifa,” the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said in a statement. “Given the size of our country, Fifa and the Local Organising Committee decided to look into reducing the originally proposed 12 venues to fit the country’s specifications while ensuring best playing conditions for all 64 matches. Generally Fifa requests a minimum of eight stadiums for hosting the Fifa World Cup.”

The organising committee will submit its proposal for the number of host venues to Fifa by December 2014, with approval expected to be given by March 2015, the statement added.

Doha had initially planned to spend $4bn on building nine new stadiums and expanding its existing Al-Rayyan, and Al-Gharafa stadiums, as well as Khalifa Stadium for the tournament. In March, MEED reported that contractors were becoming frustrated with the slow pace of contract awards for the stadium projects and the lack of clarity on the number of stadiums that will be built.

Earlier this month, Qatar awarded the first World Cup stadium construction contract to a joint venture of Belgium’s Six Construct and the local Midmac Contracting Company. The estimated $300m contract involves upgrading the existing Khalifa Stadium and increasing the seating capacity of the stadium to 60,000, from the current 45,000. The 24-month contract will also include the renovation of the museum at the surrounding Khalifa Sports City.

Last week, Qatar’s World Cup organising committee invited architects to submit designs for the tournament’s flagship Lusail stadium in mid-May. It is understood that about four leading international design firms will submit proposals for the stadium, which will be used for the World Cup final in 2022.

The design competition will replace an earlier tender the committee decided to scrap because the designs for the 80,000-seat stadium did not adequately reflect Qatari design and culture.

To ensure the fresh design meets expectations, architects will attend workshops with the committee ahead of the mid-May deadline.