49 Fun Facts About Football Stadiums

Which 2022 World Cup venue was built from recycled shipping containers?

Stadium 974 is named for its 974 containers, a number that is also Qatar's dialling code, and it was the first World Cup ground designed to be fully dismantled.

Which London club was founded in 1905 specifically to occupy Stamford Bridge after Fulham turned the ground down?

Chelsea was created by new owner Gus Mears to fill Stamford Bridge, an athletics venue since 1877, after Fulham declined it for financial reasons. The ground came before the club.

Which ground, opened in 1989 on an island in Pyongyang's Taedong River, was built with an official capacity of 150,000?

Rungrado May Day Stadium was re-rated at about 114,000 after seats replaced benches in a 2014 refit, and it stages North Korea's Mass Games far more often than football.

Which Munich stadium, host of the 2006 World Cup's opening match, has an inflated plastic skin that changes colour?

Allianz Arena glows red for Bayern and shone blue for 1860 Munich, who sold their half of the ground to Bayern in 2006 to ease a financial crisis and left in 2017.

Which London ground's grass pitch splits into three sections and slides away to reveal an artificial NFL field beneath?

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's pitch rides on 99 trays weighing 10,000 tonnes in all and retracts under the South Stand, the first in the world to split in three before moving. NFL London games are played on the synthetic turf below.

Which football stadium staged the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics?

San Siro had already staged the 1990 World Cup's opening ceremony, and the Olympic night was a late bow: Inter and AC Milan bought the ground in 2025 and it is due to be demolished once they build a replacement.

Sunderland's Stadium of Light takes its name from the heritage of which industry, whose Monkwearmouth site it occupies?

Coal mining ended on the site in 1993, and the name recalls the Davy lamps Wearmouth's miners carried underground: a giant one stands at the stadium entrance.

At which Rio stadium did Pelé score his 1,000th career goal, a penalty for Santos against Vasco da Gama in 1969?

Maracanã's crowd mobbed Pelé and carried him around the pitch after the penalty, and he used the moment to ask Brazil to help its poorest children.

Which Johannesburg venue for the 2010 World Cup final was designed to resemble a calabash, the African gourd pot?

Soccer City, officially the FNB Stadium, hosted Nelson Mandela's first Johannesburg rally after his release in 1990, and he made his last public appearance there at the 2010 final.

Where were FA Cup finals played from 2001 to 2006, while Wembley was being rebuilt?

Millennium Stadium in Cardiff also staged League Cup and play-off finals during those six seasons, making Wales the temporary home of English football's showpiece occasions.

What colour was the police horse that cleared Wembley's overrun pitch at the 1923 FA Cup final, the 'White Horse Final'?

Grey was the real colour of the horse that cleared the pitch; it only looked white in black-and-white photographs of a crowd estimated at up to 300,000, against an official attendance of 126,047.

Which club moved in 2016 to become anchor tenant of the stadium built for the London 2012 Olympics?

West Ham United left Upton Park, their home since 1904, to move in, and the old ground was demolished for redevelopment within a year.

Which club played its 2023–24 and 2024–25 home games at the Montjuïc Olympic stadium while its own ground was rebuilt?

Barcelona decamped to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, the 1992 Olympic stadium and Espanyol's home from 1997 to 2009, for two seasons of the Spotify Camp Nou rebuild.

Which Mexico City stadium was the first to stage two World Cup finals, in 1970 and 1986?

Estadio Azteca also saw Maradona score both the 'Hand of God' goal and the 'Goal of the Century' in one 1986 quarter-final, and in 2026 it became the first ground used at three World Cups.

Which Moscow ground, centrepiece of the 1980 Olympics, hosted the opening match and final of the 2018 World Cup?

Luzhniki Stadium also staged the 2008 Champions League final, when a temporary natural grass pitch was laid over its artificial surface, and the 1999 UEFA Cup final.

Which Saint-Denis stadium, opened for the 1998 World Cup, saw the hosts beat Brazil 3–0 in that tournament's final?

Stade de France went on to stage Rugby World Cup finals in 2007 and 2023, so the same ground has decided the world title in both codes.

The 2002 World Cup final, Ronaldo scoring twice against Germany, was played in which Japanese city?

Yokohama's International Stadium staged the final, while Tokyo, the obvious guess, hosted no matches at all at the 2002 World Cup.

Which ground, holding around 74,000, is the largest club football stadium in the United Kingdom?

Old Trafford was bombed in the Second World War, so Manchester United played their home games at rival City's Maine Road until 1949.

Which airline's ten-year deal in July 2011 renamed the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester City's home?

Etihad Airways was already City's shirt sponsor; the club had won the right to sell the name in 2010 by renegotiating its lease with the council, which still owns the ground.

Which Portuguese club's ground, usually translated 'Stadium of Light', staged the Euro 2004 final?

Benfica's Estádio da Luz is really named for the Luz neighbourhood, itself named after a church of Our Lady of Light, and it also hosted the 2014 and 2020 Champions League finals.

Which Rome stadium, rebuilt and roofed for the 1990 World Cup, is shared by Roma and Lazio?

Stadio Olimpico took its name in 1955 when Rome was awarded the 1960 Olympics; before the 1990 rebuild it was almost entirely unroofed apart from the Monte Mario grandstand.

Which Buenos Aires stadium, home of River Plate, hosted the 1978 World Cup final and is South America's largest?

Estadio Monumental held 76,600 for the 1978 final, when its popular stands were standing-only, and after expansion now seats about 85,000, more than any other ground on the continent.

Which Montevideo stadium, built for the 1930 World Cup, is FIFA's only 'Historical Monument of World Football'?

Estadio Centenario was not ready when its own World Cup began: rain delayed the work, so the first games were played at two smaller club grounds.

Which ground drew more than 149,000 for Scotland v England in 1937, still a European record for an international?

Hampden Park was then the biggest stadium in the world, and thousands more got in without tickets on top of the 150,000 the SFA was allowed to sell.

Which Glasgow ground's exit stairway saw 66 deaths in a crush at the end of an Old Firm match in January 1971?

Ibrox's Stairway 13, the exit nearest Copland Road subway station, had already killed two people in a 1961 crush and injured more in 1967 and 1969; more than 200 were also injured on 2 January 1971.

The Estadio Nacional disaster of 24 May 1964, with an official toll of 328, happened in the capital of which country?

Peru had a late equaliser against Argentina disallowed in Lima; fans ran on, police fired tear gas into the stands and the fleeing crowd was crushed against closed exit gates.

Which Liverpool ground, England's first purpose-built football stadium in 1892, became Everton Women's home in 2025?

Goodison Park opened with stands on three sides and passed to Everton Women when the men's team moved to the new Hill Dickinson Stadium in 2025. It also staged matches at the 1966 World Cup.

Which London ground's 1905 Johnny Haynes Stand is the oldest surviving stand in English professional football and Grade II listed?

Craven Cottage takes its name from a real cottage built in 1780 by the sixth Baron Craven; Archibald Leitch's 1905 pavilion, the present-day 'Cottage', is listed too.

Which Dutch ground opened in 1996 as Ajax's new home and took its present name in 2018?

Johan Cruyff Arena was the Amsterdam Arena until it was renamed for the Ajax great after his death in 2016; it began as an Olympic design with a running track for the city's failed 1992 bid.

What replaced the Twin Towers as the signature landmark of the rebuilt Wembley Stadium, opened in 2007?

A steel arch more than 130 metres high crowns the new Wembley, and it is not just for show: it holds up most of the roof.

Which German ground's south terrace, nicknamed the Yellow Wall, is the largest standing area in European football?

Signal Iduna Park's Südtribüne holds about 25,000 standing Borussia Dortmund fans; when seats are fitted for international games, the ground's capacity drops from over 81,000 to about 66,000.

What was the name of Napoli's stadium from 1963 until December 2020, when the city renamed it for Diego Maradona?

Stadio San Paolo honoured Paul the Apostle, said to have arrived in the area by sea some 2,000 years ago; the ground had opened in 1959 as the Stadio del Sole.

Which Birmingham stadium has hosted 55 FA Cup semi-finals, more than any other ground?

Villa Park opened in April 1897 with a friendly against Blackburn Rovers, just a week after Aston Villa had completed the League and FA Cup Double.

Which retailer's name replaced St James' Park on Newcastle United's ground in November 2011?

Sports Direct Arena was billed as a temporary way to 'showcase the sponsorship opportunity', and when lender Wonga bought the naming rights in 2012 it gave the ground its old name back.

Which Glasgow ground, with a capacity of 60,411, is the largest football stadium in Scotland?

Celtic Park is called 'Paradise' because a journalist likened the club's 1892 move from its old ground to going from the graveyard to paradise.

Which Munich stadium, under Frei Otto's tent-like acrylic canopy, was Bayern's home from 1972 until 2005?

Olympiastadion's sweeping transparent canopy, by Günther Behnisch with engineer Frei Otto, was meant to symbolise a new, democratic West Germany; Bayern moved in from the Grünwalder Stadion in 1972 and stayed 33 years.

Which Gelsenkirchen ground, home of Schalke, has a retractable roof and a pitch that slides out of the building?

Veltins-Arena rolls its whole pitch outdoors so the grass can grow in the open air and concerts never damage it.

Which Bolivian stadium, about 3,600 metres up in La Paz, was barred from World Cup qualifiers by FIFA's 2007 altitude ban?

Estadio Hernando Siles won a special exemption from FIFA a month later, and the altitude ban itself was suspended in May 2008 after protests that included a match Diego Maradona played there.

Which Buenos Aires stadium, Boca Juniors' home, kept its fourth side largely open except for VIP boxes until 1996?

La Bombonera means 'the chocolate box', a nickname credited to one of its architects, and its steep stands are known for trembling when the crowd jumps.

Which 2022 World Cup venue, host of the opening match, was designed to resemble the tents of Qatar's nomadic peoples?

Al Bayt Stadium was meant to be as portable as the tents it copies: its upper tier was designed to come out after the tournament so the seats could be given to other countries.

The original Wembley, with its Twin Towers, was built in 1922–23 as the stadium for which event?

The British Empire Exhibition of 1924–25 was meant to be the stadium's whole life: it was due to be demolished afterwards, but was saved and hosted England until 2000.

The 2023 Women's World Cup final between Spain and England was played in which city?

Sydney's Stadium Australia held 75,784 for the 20 August 2023 final; during the 2000 Games the same ground drew 104,098 to watch Cameroon beat Spain on penalties for Olympic gold.

Which Basque stadium, opened in 2013 on former trade-fair land, went up right beside the 1913 original it replaced?

San Mamés, 'La Catedral', went up in stages: the old ground was torn down from June 2013, Athletic Bilbao moved into the three-quarters-built new one that September, and the last stand then rose on the old site.

Arsenal's Emirates Stadium was built on which former industrial and waste-disposal estate, bought by the club in 2000?

Ashburton Grove was chosen after Arsenal weighed other options, including buying Wembley Stadium, having first examined the site's feasibility in November 1999.

Brussels' Heysel Stadium was rebuilt and reopened in 1995 under the name of which Belgian king?

Baudouin had died two years earlier; the rebuild and new name came a decade after the 1985 disaster in which 39 fans died there before a European Cup final.

Which Sheffield ground, Hallam FC's home since 1860, does Guinness list as the world's oldest football ground?

Sandygate staged the world's first inter-club football match on 26 December 1860, Hallam against Sheffield FC, on a ground that had first opened in 1804.

Which Lancashire ground, in use for football since 1878, housed the National Football Museum from 2001 to 2010?

Deepdale's museum drew about 100,000 visitors a year to see treasures such as the 1966 World Cup final ball, but it lost its outside funding and moved to Manchester.

Which west London ground laid professional football's first artificial pitch in Britain in 1981?

Loftus Road kept its Omniturf until 1988; three other league grounds laid plastic pitches too, but by 1994 every one had been ripped up.

Which Rotterdam stadium, Feyenoord's home, has staged ten European club finals, the last the 2002 UEFA Cup final?

De Kuip, 'the Tub', is officially Stadion Feijenoord; in 2002 Feyenoord won a UEFA Cup final in their own ground, beating Borussia Dortmund 3–2, and it also hosted the Euro 2000 final.