Opinion

The innovative cooling technology used in the stadiums of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and in other public places, such as Katara, is an embodiment of the sustainable legacy after the World Cup, whether in Qatar or abroad, as well as the lively development of environmentally friendly technology in football.The cooling process depends on sensors limited to the spaces where people are present as the stadium structure acts as a wall surrounding the cooling inside area.The stadium cooling mechanism works by passing the cooled air through special outlets under the audiences’ seats, and large nozzles to cool the pitch.Air circulation technology is also used, where previously cooled air is drawn in, cooled again and purified, before being pushed back into the stadium.Cooling technology was an important commitment of Qatar’s bid, not only for the success of the 2022 tournament, but also as a legacy for Qatar and the region.The technology aims to stabilise the temperature during matches not to exceed 21C, creating a suitable environment for the players by turning the field into an air bubble with sensors installed to isolate the entire stadium from outside weather.Since Qatar has won the honour of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2010, the country promised to organise a historic and remarkable edition of the World Cup, setting new standards and advanced ways to organise global tournaments in the future, based on the optimal use of environmentally friendly technology.Although the World Cup Qatar 2022 is scheduled for the winter season during November and December, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which is the body responsible for delivering infrastructure projects, insisted on implementing sustainable technologies and innovative cooling systems in stadiums, training venues and areas for spectators and fans, which will contribute to reducing the temperature to range between 20-24C.The work of this technology will not be limited to cooling the air, but also purifying it, as the air inside the stadiums will be very clean and pure.In addition to that, the cooling technology will be used to ventilate the stadiums floor in order to provide a suitable climatic environment for healthy grass free of fungal diseases.The cooling system was developed for the sake of three basic elements: the grass, the players and the fans, which means that the process provides the grass with a certain temperature and humidity to be at its best.The process also gives both the players and the fans an appropriate temperature.The state-of-the-art cooling technology blows cold air on the players via football-sized nozzles alongside the pitch and smaller air diffusers under each spectator’s seat, pushing out cold air at ankle level.The human body produces heat to a certain degree, and when a large number of people gather in one place, this temperature rises dramatically.World Cup Stadiums Cooling Technology Engineer Dr Saud Abdulghani said the innovative cooling system in the stadiums of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 constitutes a model to follow in the sustainable legacy of major tournaments, in a way that enhances the status of Qatar at the global level, with its steady progress in fulfilling its pledges to host an exceptional edition of the World Cup.Abdulghani, who led the team involved in developing the cooling technologies in the stadiums for the World Cup Qatar 2022, explains that the innovative cooling system will help players avoid injury in extreme temperatures, noting that this technology will become a constant base in major sporting events in the future.The cooling system consists of two parts, the first of which is to purify and clean the air and the second one of which is to cool it.It relies on pushing clean and cooled air into the stadiums and taking out the hot air and recirculating it through machines that release clean and filtered air.Sensors are deployed throughout the stadiums to control the temperature and humidity, to provide a temperature during matches ranging between 20-24C, at the request of FIFA.The cooling devices are designed based on 3D printed stadium model to determine the power of the wind and the shape of the shade, as the design of the stadium greatly affects the cooling and purification of the air.In this context, Cooling Technology Engineer, who is also a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Qatar University, indicates that the system meets the requirements of sustainability as the energy used in the cooling process is generated from the main grid, which receives the energy coming from the Al Kharsaah Solar Power Plant.He points to the difference in the mechanism of cooling technology according to the design, shape and function of each stadium, which challenged the engineer and the work team.Afterwards, customised cooling solutions are created for each stadium separately, covering all areas within the World Cup stadiums that will witness the tournament, ensuring that fans and players enjoy an ideal atmosphere during the activities of the World Cup championship, he adds.Khalifa International Stadium is the first World Cup stadium that was equipped with innovative cooling technology during its redevelopment work while the new technology was included in the rest of the World Cup stadiums, starting from the design stage. The first of these was Al Janoub Stadium, which is the first stadium built from scratch specifically to host the World Cup competitions. (QNA)

Upbeat investors in cryptocurrencies have suffered a painful collision with reality after Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX filed for bankruptcy.The entire $16bn fortune of former FTX co-founder Bankman-Fried has been wiped out, one of history’s greatest-ever destructions of wealth.The downfall of his crypto empire — which filed for bankruptcy last Friday along with his resignation — means assets owned by the mogul have become just worthless.At the peak, the 30-year-old was worth $26bn, and he was still worth almost $16bn at the start of the week.The Bloomberg Billionaires Index now values FTX’s US business — of which Bankman-Fried owns about 70% — at $1 because of a potential trading halt, from $8bn in a January fundraising round.The saga that has shaken the crypto world began with a rumour on November 2 and culminated on Friday with FTX filing for US bankruptcy court protection from creditors and Bankman-Fried resigning as chief executive in the industry’s highest-profile collapse.US regulators are now investigating Bankman-Fried and FTX.com for potential violation of rules following the crypto exchange’s sudden collapse, which marks yet another crisis of confidence for the cryptocurrency industry.Bankman-Fried was also interviewed by Bahamian police and regulators on Saturday as the authorities in the country investigate whether there was any criminal misconduct in FTX’s collapse.The firm is registered in the Bahamas.FTX’s liquidity crunch appears to have been triggered in part by a report on CoinDesk last week detailing close ties between FTX and Alameda Research, the trading house Bankman-Fried founded and in which he is a majority owner.According to a Wall Street Journal report, FTX lent more than half of its customer assets to Alameda to fund risky bets. Bankman-Fried says FTX now faces a shortfall of up to $8bn.Even before the FTX crash, institutional investors were souring on cryptocurrencies. The sudden downfall of FTX.com may have permanently damaged their prospects of being included in mainstream portfolios.While plenty of industry die-hards remain, many professional money managers are saying the case for crypto as a portfolio diversifier or digital gold has been debunked. The losses are too great and the market structure is too risky, they say.The implosions and scandals of the past few months have laid waste to the key arguments of crypto boosters, and all but obliterated the notion of Bitcoin as safe haven in turbulent times.But none of those events – from the TerraUSD collapse to the Celsius bankruptcy — were as damning as the revelation that even FTX, until recently considered one of the most blue-chip names in crypto, was unsound.The FTX collapse is “raising questions on the viability of the crypto ecosystem,” said Salman Ahmed, chief investment strategist at Fidelity International, which oversees $646bn from London. “It was always tough to make a case for including crypto, but the set-up has come under more pressure.”Crypto markets have lost some $2tn in market value over the last year as the Federal Reserve has removed liquidity and markets reprice financial assets.Even as other crypto firms ran into trouble, Bankman-Fried insisted that FTX was solid. Last Thursday he acknowledged in a Twitter post that he was wrong.The cryptoverse is hyped for its decentralised domain. As for FTX, however, so much hope and responsibility was placed on one individual.For sure, it goes against everything that crypto is supposed to represent.