Qatar 2022 World Cup Stadium- Video

The striking design is meant to resemble an ancient dhow boat that Qataris traditionally used for pearl diving.

But when plans were released for a new 45,000-capacity stadium to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup the first reaction was something different entirely.

As Qatar unveiled the stunning blueprints for its new state-of-the-art climate-controlled Al-Wakrah sports stadium, design went viral.

Thousands of fans posted tweets likening it to a woman’s private parts – something that was almost certainly unintentional.

The design, topped with a structure resembling the sails of a dhow, is meant to tackle the Qatari searing heat and also includes a spectator area outside the ground that will be temperature controlled at 30C to 32C.

The plan gave no specific details how the cooling system would work, other than saying it would incorporate ‘shading, aerodynamic and mechanical cooling components’.

The question of the heat during a summer tournament has been a one of several controversies since Qatar was announced as the winner of the bid in December 2010.

Players’ union FIFPro has said it will urge its members not to take part if it is played in Qatar’s summer, even if air conditioning is installed in the stadiums.

Qatar’s building projects have also been hit by allegations of migrant construction workers not being given enough food or water, as well as accusations of corruption over the voting procedure to win the bid. Officials have denied the accusations.

‘Al-Wakrah is the first of six stadiums already in the latter stages of the design process, our committee has issued 10 major tenders to the market encompassing project and design managers and stadium-operation consultants,’ Hassan al-Thawadi, the general secretary of the 2022 committee told reporters.

He said the stadium, with a capacity of 40,000 people, would be completed by 2018, but declined to comment on the cost.

Overall, the tiny gas-rich state plans to spend about $140 billion on a rail system, a new airport, a seaport, and hundreds of kilometers of new roads for the tournament, in addition to the stadiums that will host the matches.

Asked how the committee plans to limit any risk of abuse to workers, al-Thawadi said the committee was dedicated to applying all clauses in its workers’ charter to make sure the rights of the workers were going to be respected and upheld.

‘If there are any deaths above zero that would be unacceptable for us,’ he said.

The Al-Wakrah, which will be built 12 miles south of Doha, is not the only building to have been attracted attention for that reason.

In Chicago the Crain Communications Building, which was completed in 1983 with a prominent vertical slit in the front, has been dubbed the Vagina Building.