Major tournaments in future will need cooling technology: expert

Most stadiums around the world will have to use the cooling technology in future irrespective of tournaments being held in the winter or summer, according to the brain behind the cooling technology at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadiums. Dr Saud Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani, mechanical engineer and professor at College of Engineering, Qatar University, said: “ With global warming and climate change, such technologies will have to be part of the design of any major stadiums,” said Dr Abdul-Ghani.He was taking part in a panel discussion organised by Ibtechar on 'Delivering Innovation Through 2022', which shed light on the technological innovations that will be used during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.Dr Abdul-Ghani was joined in the discussion by Mohamed Nabeel al-Atwaan, FM director - Stadium 974, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy and projects director, Old Doha Port, and Abdelrazek Aly, co-founder and CEO at Bonocle, Inc. The session as moderated by Nayef al-Ibrahim, CEO and co-founder of Ibtechar.Dr Abdul-Ghani said: “We use clean energy to run our stadiums. They all come from PV panels. We use them sustainably as we want to make sure that whatever we do is sustainable and the energy is coming from clean source.”“But in many places the upper brink of the stadium go very heated even in winter times. It is called the brink of fire. This is because people breathe and they emit a lot of heat. So no matter whether the tournament is in winter or summer, you need cooling system to offset the heat breathed out by people,” he explained.He stressed that countries building new smart stadiums will need some cooling or air tempering for spectators and players. He also discussed the major challenges in the cooling technology for the stadiums in Qatar. “The main challenge in providing the cooling technology for an open stadium is to make sure that the cold air does not escape especially with the wind. So, the prime focus was how the shape of the stadium should help you to make sure that the cooling generated stays inside,” he noted. Aly highlighted how the Qatar 2022 World Cup will be the most accessible one and the innovative ideas used to make it accessible for everyone. Al-Atween noted the innovations used in the design and construction of the stadiums and how the legacy part is taken care of. He highlighted the most sustainable stadium, Stadium 974.