At the crack of dawn on August 26, the Chinese men's soccer team, a squad of nearly 80 players, embarked on a journey to Doha, the capital of Qatar, to prepare for the first two rounds of the upcoming Asian Round of 12 of the World Qualifying Tournament. Shortly after arriving at their hotel, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Qatar World Cup Delivery and Legacy Committee made an urgent announcement that the first round Group B match, in which Australia will host China, will be played at the air-conditioned Khalifa World Stadium in Doha at 2:00 a.m. on September 3rd.
Just before that, the Australian Football Association (AFA) had asked Qatar to move their first round of the 12-team tournament to Doha. The Qatar Football Association (QFA) responded quickly by offering four stadiums equipped with air-conditioning units, a "cooling device", to choose from.
After much discussion and selection, Football Australia has chosen Khalifa World Stadium. The Qatar World Cup Delivery and Legacy Committee described the historic stadium this way in an official statement, "Built since 1976, Khalifa World Stadium, with a capacity of 40,000 spectators, is the oldest of the eight official Qatar World Cup competition venues. It is adjacent to the Aspire base and will be the venue for Australia's opening Group B match of the Round of 12 against China."
It is worth mentioning that on September 7, the Chinese team will face the Japanese team at the same venue. At present, the CFA is actively communicating with the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and other relevant departments to ensure that the Chinese national soccer team in Doha during the training venue arrangements are foolproof.
