An Argentina delegation had travelled to Qatar early this month and inspected the campus and were impressed by what they saw.
QU has well-equipped outdoor fields, including a stadium built according to international standards and includes a football field, running track, athletic sports area. It also has an Aquatic Centre, which consists of three swimming pools; the Olympic pool, diving pool, and learning pool. It also contains a gym as well as a recreation centre, which includes a sauna and hot and cold Jacuzzi.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni had earlier confirmed his squad’s stay at Qatar University. “The Argentina national team will stay at the Qatar University. We can sleep there and the training is very close. What really interests me is that we are in one place and we can train and sleep in the same place. Don’t need to grab a bus to go back and forth,” Scaloni had said.
Argentina will face Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland in Group C. The Albiceleste will kick off their campaign on November 22 against Saudi Arabia at the Lusail Stadium. Scaloni’s side will then face Mexico on November 26 at the Education City Stadium, before returning to the Lusail Stadium for a clash against Poland on November 30.
Meanwhile, according to reports, Spain has also chosen the Qatar University campus as their training base, with the venue being big enough to house two teams. However, Qatar University has not confirmed Spain’s stay yet. The campus was initially reserved for Egypt but the Pharaohs failed to qualify for the World Cup.
When 32 of the world’s top international sides arrive in Qatar for the FIFA World Cup, their training site will be a modern, state-of-the-art facility built or upgraded specifically for the tournament.
Qatar’s organising committee has identified and selected 40 suitable team base camps for competing nations and match officials. Many of the facilities have been used already during recent tournaments, including the FIFA Club World Cup and FIFA Arab Cup.
Each Team Base Camp consists of a hotel and training site, with every one close to all of Qatar’s eight tournament stadiums. Thanks to the country’s compact nature, teams will stay and train in one location throughout the event – meaning more time for rest and preparation, and minimal travel times on match days.
During the World Cup, 33 base camps will be used – 32 of them by participating teams and one by the match officials. Offering 40 team base Camps was part of Qatar’s bid in order to enable teams to pick a location which best suits their needs.
Each training site has been developed to include floodlit, natural grass pitches – with the turf grown at the SC’s Tree & Turf Nursery in Qatar. Each site also includes stands for media training sessions, dressing rooms, medical facilities, recovery facilities, a media centre, and IT and communications networks.