Critics said that Qatar "will be too hot to host the 2022 World Cup but it is determined to prove the grass is no greener elsewhere," according to Tom Finn of REUTERS.
Beyond the air-conditioned stadiums now slowly rising from the greyer dust, how to keep the football pitches "from withering away in the desert sun is a challenge that a motley group of botanists is trying to solve."
Among date palms and empty warehouses in the scrubland outside the capital Doha, World Cup Turf Manager Yasser Abdulla Mulla "manages a research center where a botanist from New Zealand and several south Asian workers are nurturing 12 breeds of grass with water and fertilizer."
Mulla: "We want a grass that is durable, attractive to the eye and can survive heat and humidity. Yes, we have summer winds and dust storms but all grass really needs is sun, water and fertilizer. We are looking for turf that can survive here in Doha and in the region."
Qatar's World Cup "will be held in November when temperatures still reach the mid-20 degrees Celsius (75 Fahrenheit) but the grass will run their stress tests through the Gulf summer."
This is when temperatures typically range from 40 to 50 degrees Celsius (104 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit) and the turf "will absorb an Olympics swimming pool worth of desalinated water every 10 days" (REUTERS, 5/3).