Qatar is considering building an underwater broadcast studio for use during TV coverage for the FIFA World Cup in 2022, a designer working on potential plans for the project has revealed.

“The project we are in the process of designing for is an underwater broadcast centre is quite a real possibility,” Patric Douglas, CEO of Reef Worlds, told Arabian Business in a phone interview from its base in Los Angeles.

Douglas said Qatar’s World Cup authorities “like the design” and “they like the notion of doing the World Cup underwater with sharks swimming around.”

The site for the proposed underwater broadcast centre would be a carved out area of rock, which would then be turned into a giant aquarium.

The project is likely to cost around $30 million to build and Douglas said the funding for it would be underwritten by broadcasters eager to use the unusual venue as a broadcast base when the Gulf state hosts the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

“You could underwrite the entire thing with one Sky or Latin broadcast network, they will pay you enough money to finance this thing,” Douglas claimed.

A final decision on the project is due in two months and project planners believe it could be underwritten by broadcasting companies who would be keen to use the unique facilities.

Qatar is reportedly spending more than $200 bn in preparation to host the football tournament, which equates to around $100,000 per capita. In contrast, South Africa spent $2.7bn hosting the 2010 tournament, working out to $54 per capita.

The Persian Gulf region is experiencing something of an underwater development boom. A Polish architect recently announced plans for an underwater tennis court near Dubai and Many underwater suits.

Seems, building underwater is becoming a competition in that region