The 80,000 seat stadium will be converted into a community hub after the World Cup.

The Lusail World Cup stadium will inaugurate its first ever match in August, hosting a game between local league rivals Al Arabi and Al Rayyan.

The venue, one of eight World Cup stadiums in the Gulf state, will welcome local football fans on 11 August for a QNB Stars League match for the 2022/2023 season, according to the league’s official schedule.

This marks the stadium’s first match since being built for the World Cup tournament later this year, when it will host the final game of the global sporting event.

The 80,000 seat golden venue sits on the outskirts of Lusail City, 15km north of central Doha.

Its shape and facade “echo the intricate decorative motifs on bowls, vessels and other art pieces found across the Arab and Islamic world during the rise of civilisation in the region,” the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy states on its official website.

Lusail Stadium will be transformed into a community space to cater to the local community in the aftermath of the World Cup.

The multi-purpose community hub will include schools, shops, cafés, sporting facilities and health clinics.

As part of Qatar’s World Cup legacy, most of the stadium’s 80,000 seats will be removed and donated to sporting projects around the world.

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will kick off at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor in northern Qatar. This year’s tournament will make history as the first ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab world.