Glenn Howells Architects (GHA) and Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have reached the final in the competition to design a new stadium for Forest Green Rovers Football Club in Gloucestershire, UK.

Almost 50 entries from around the world were submitted to the competition, and the winning pair have been selected from a shortlist of nine candidates.

The brief called for a fan-focused and sustainable 5,000 capacity stadium in line with the club’s strong environmental principles. It will be the centrepiece of the £100m Eco Park development – a 100 acre sports and green technology business park proposal beside junction 13 of the M5 in Gloucestershire.

“The diversity and quality of the designs were outstanding and it was a very difficult process narrowing it down from nine to two,” said Forest Green Rovers chair Dale Vince, who is also the founder of clean energy group Ecotricity. “In the two finalists, we have one from a globally renowned practice and the other designed by an architect that created the award-winning Gloucester services right on our doorstep.”

ZHA are working on one of the five stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and their previous sporting facilities include the 2012 London Olympic Aquatic Centre.

Commenting on the Forest Green Rovers project, studio director Jim Heverin said: “The selection allows us to continue working with the club’s team to deliver a stadium and landscape design using timber construction that embodies the virtues of beauty and sustainability in this unique Stroud countryside location.”

GHA, who were shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2007, have created a host of leisure buildings and structures, including the recently-opened STIHL Treetop Walkway in Gloucestershire.

Studio founder Glenn Howells said: “The ambition and vision of the client will make this a truly innovative and ground breaking stadium and we look forward to developing our proposals to demonstrate how this can be achieved.”

Two other firms AFL Architects and George King Architects were “highly commended” on their designs.

The winning design will be unveiled in September.