Stadium 974: What happens next to the first temporary World Cup stadium?

Fifa’s report compared the emissions produced by the building of Stadium 974 to the average emissions of the four permanent stadiums that have a similar capacity of 40,000-45,000.

It found the temporary stadium “initially emits more carbon emissions due to the use of carbon-intensive materials such as metal and steel” – as opposed to mainly concrete in permanent stadiums – which allows it to be dismantled and reassembled multiple times.

So, as it stands, Stadium 974 has a higher carbon footprint than the comparable permanent stadiums built for Qatar 2022.

For the temporary stadium to have a lower total footprint than multiple permanent stadiums, Carbon Market Watch said it “depends on how many times, and how far, the stadium is transported and reassembled”.

Fifa’s study assessed three different scenarios for the future of Stadium 974, in which it is reused once, twice or three times in a series of differing locations.

It found if the temporary stadium is reused only once, it must be relocated “within a total sea and road travel distance of 7,033km” to be more “environmentally advantageous” than building two permanent stadiums. It also highlighted the environmental benefits of the stadium being repurposed within the region, or specifically in Qatar.

That maximum travel figure rises to 40,118 km overall for two reuses and 72,616km for three.

All three scenarios were also modelled on the temporary stadium spending four years in the first location and in each subsequent location, before operating the remainder of a 60-year lifespan at its final destination.