Qatar's journey to the Opening and Final matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ is now underway. Progress is visible on the spot where Lusail Stadium, the centrepiece of the first World Cup in the Middle East, will seat 80,000 spectators in a spectacular venue inspired by Qatari traditions and culture.

Five kilometres of hoarding surround the site of the proposed host venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ Final, where site facilities and offices have been finalised, marking the completion of the early works phase.

Lusail Stadium is the sixth stadium currently under construction across Qatar. Two major packages have been recently completed at the one million square metre site: early works and site investigation. These packages include the installation of site facilities and offices, which will be the home for the Lusail Stadium technical team for the coming years.

Mubarak Al-Khulaifi, SC Project Director at Lusail Stadium, said: "We are very pleased to have initiated a presence on the site, which has a special significance for us all as the proposed host venue for the Opening and Final matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. Following the timely conclusion of the early works phase, we aim to shortly commence enabling works. The scope for this phase will be comprised of the heavy civil works required to facilitate the construction of the stadium structure."

The site investigation has provided information about critical aspects of the site such as the quality of the soil and the groundwater levels which will form a part of the basis of design for the stadium foundations and substructure. It has also generated information about site levels, and the grading and levelling work required to achieve the finished site profile. The final design for Lusail Stadium will be presented in 2016.

"The concept phase of the stadium design has been completed and approved, opening the way for the schematic phase. For Lusail Stadium we are building a venue which will become an internationally-recognisable landmark. It is worth noting that it is also on the flight path coming in from a number of countries for fans arriving to Hamad International Airport," added Al-Khulaifi.

In the months following the award of the design contract to Foster + Partners this March, the SC and the designers have worked hand-in-hand to capture a sense of local and regional architecture, reflecting the aesthetics of Qatar.

The stadium has been designed to be in harmony with the surrounding Lusail City. To achieve this, extensive work has been carried out to integrate the stadium with the neighbouring master-plan. Regular coordination is held with the local municipal authority for the exchange of engineering information about the utilities and services in order to ensure alignment with the available sources in the area.

Located in Lusail City, 15 kilometres north of Doha, the stadium will have a seating capacity of 80,000 spectators. All contracts on Lusail Stadium incorporate the SC's Workers' Welfare Standards. Contractual enforcement of these standards and a rigorous four-tier auditing system guarantees international best practice on Lusail Stadium as construction advances further in the coming months.