- National stadium
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Many countries have a national football stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadium. Usually, a national stadium will be in or very near a country's capital city or largest city. It is generally (but not always) the country's largest and most lavish sports venue. In many but not all cases, it is also used by a club team. Many countries, including Spain and the United States, do not have a National Stadium designated as such, instead matches are rotated throughout the country. The lack of a national stadium can be seen as advantageous as designating a single stadium would limit the fan base capable of realistically attending matches.
A list of national stadiums follows:
Afghanistan
- National Stadium (football)
Albania
- Qemal Stafa (football)
Algeria
- Stade 5 Juillet 1962 (football)
Andorra
- Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella (football)
Angola
- Estádio da Cidadela (football)
Antigua and Barbuda
- Antigua Recreation Ground (cricket and football)
Argentina
- Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti (football)
- Estadio Multipropósito Parque Roca (basketball and tennis)
- Estadio Nacional de Hockey (field hockey)
- Campo Argentino de Polo (polo)
- CeNARD (athletics)
- Estadio José Amalfitani, also known as Vélez Sársfield (rugby union)—Although the national team plays Tests at several venues around the country, most of their home Tests against teams in the Six Nations and Tri Nations are held here.
Armenia
- Hrazdan Stadium (football)
- Hanrapetakan Stadium (football)
Australia
Australia does not have an official national stadium, yet its two biggest stadiums alternate hosting large events are the following:
- Melbourne Cricket Ground (Australian rules football, cricket, and major soccer events)—often seen as the de facto national stadium due to historical links as well as being the current largest in Australia.
- Stadium Australia, currently known under a sponsorship deal as 'ANZ Stadium', the 2000 Sydney Olympic Stadium (rugby league, rugby union, football (soccer) and occasional Australian rules football). There exists a popular rivalry between ANZ Stadium and the MCG due to lasting rivalries between football codes and the respective cities. There was a strongly implied claim to being the new national stadium when it opened in 1999 with the name 'Stadium Australia'. The only major sport that it does not host events for is cricket, as the Sydney Cricket Ground is a traditional home for the sport.
Austria
- Ernst Happel Stadion (football)
Azerbaijan
- Tofik Bakhramov Stadium (football)
Bahamas
- Thomas Robinson Stadium (football and athletics)
Bahrain
- Bahrain National Stadium (football)
Bangladesh
- Bangabandhu National Stadium (football)
- Sher-e-Bangla Mirpur Stadium (cricket)
Barbados
- Barbados National Stadium (outdoor track and field)
Belarus
- Dinamo Stadium (football)
Belgium
- King Baudouin Stadium (football and athletics)
Benin
- Stade de l'Amitié (football)
Bermuda
- Bermuda National Stadium (football, rugby union, athletics and cricket)
Bhutan
- Changlimithang Stadium (football and archery)
Bolivia
- Estadio Hernando Siles (football)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bilino Polje Zenica (football)
Botswana
- Botswana National Stadium (football)
Brazil
Brazil does not have an official national stadium. Large sports events are commonly held in alternate venues.
Many stadiums are commonly used to host Brazil national team matches during the World Cup qualification and Conmebol events:
- Estádio Nacional de Brasília (under construction)- Located in Brasília—capital city. It's a reconstruction of Mané Garrincha for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
- Estádio do Maracanã (football)—located in Rio de Janeiro. It was the venue of the 1950 FIFA World Cup final match and will possibly be for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
- Morumbi (São Paulo—largest city),
- Mineirão (Belo Horizonte),
- Beira-Rio (Porto Alegre),
- Couto Pereira (Curitiba),
- Serra Dourada (Goiânia),
- Mangueirão (Belém),
- Vivaldão (Manaus),
- Arruda (Recife)
- Machadão (Natal)
- From 2006, Brazil entered a deal to play it's home games against European teams at the Emirates stadium in London. As many of the Brazilian squad played for European clubs, it was more convenient for players to play games in Europe rather than travel back to South America during the season, though in recent times a larger number of the Squad's members have played in the Brazilian league.
Brunei Darussalam
- Sultan Hassal Bolkiah Stadium (football)
Bulgaria
- Vasil Levski National Stadium (football and athletics)
Burkina Faso
- Stade du 4-Août (football)
Burundi
- Prince Louis Rwagasore Stadium (football)
Cambodia
- Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium (football and athletics)
Cameroon
- Stade Omnisports (football)
Canada
- BMO Field (men's soccer)
- Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton) (women's soccer and formerly men's)
- Saputo Stadium (men's soccer)
- Maple Leaf Cricket Club Cricket
- Canada does not have a national stadium/arena for ice hockey. The national team plays at several venues throughout the country.
Cape Verde
- Estádio da Várzea (football)
Central African Republic
- Barthelemy Boganda Stadium (football)
Chad
- Stade Nacional (football)
Chile
- Estadio Nacional (football)
People's Republic of China
- Beijing National Stadium (football and athletics)
Colombia
- Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez (football)
Republic of the Congo(Congo-Brazzaville)
- Stade de la Revolution (football)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa)
- Stade des Martyrs (football and athletics)
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
- Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (football and athletics)
Côte d'Ivoire
- Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny (football)
Croatia
- Maksimir Stadium (football)
Cuba
Cyprus
- GSP Stadium (football)
Czech Republic
- Strahov Stadium (sokol)
- Generali Arena (football)
- O2 arena (ice hockey)
Denmark
- Parken Stadium (football)
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
- Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez (football)
- Estadio Quisqueya (baseball)
East Timor
- National Stadium (football)
Ecuador
- Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa (football and athletics)
Egypt
- Cairo International Stadium (football and athletics)
El Salvador
- Estadio Cuscatlán (football)
England
- Lord's Cricket Ground (cricket)
- Twickenham (rugby union)
- Wembley Stadium (football, rugby league)
- Crystal Palace National Sports Centre (athletics) will be replaced by the Olympic Stadium
- National Hockey Stadium (hockey)
Equatorial Guinea
- Nuevo Estadio de Malabo (football)
Eritrea
- Cicero Stadium (football)
Estonia
- A. Le Coq Arena (football)
- Kadrioru Stadium (athletics)
- Saku Suurhall Arena (basketball)
Ethiopia
- Addis Abeba Stadium (football)
Faroe Islands
- Tórsvøllur (football)
Fiji
Finland
- Helsinki Olympic Stadium (football and athletics)
- Hartwall Areena (ice hockey)
France
- Stade de France (football, rugby union, and athletics)
- In the case of rugby, the national team plays Test matches throughout the country, but it uses Stade de France exclusively for its fixtures in the Six Nations Championship.
Gabon
- Stade Omar Bongo (football)
The Gambia
- Independence Stadium (Bakau) (football)
Georgia
Germany
- The German national football team usually plays at different stadiums throughout the country. However, the venue for the German Cup Final is the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
Ghana
- Ohene Djan Stadium (football)
Greece
- Olympic Stadium (athletics and football)
Greenland
- Nuuk Stadium (football)
Grenada
Guatemala
- Estadio Mateo Flores (football and athletics)
Guinea
- Stade 28 Septembre (football)
Guinea-Bissau
- Estádio 24 de Setembro (football)
Guyana
Honduras
- Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino (football)
Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Stadium (football and rugby sevens)
Hungary
- Puskás Ferenc Stadium
Iceland
- Laugardalsvöllur (football)
Indonesia
Iran
India
- National Stadium, Delhi
- Wankhede Stadium (cricket)
- Salt Lake Stadium (football and athletics)
- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Athletics and football)
Ireland
- National Stadium (boxing)
- Croke Park (Gaelic games)
- Aviva Stadium (rugby union and association football)
- Morton Stadium (athletics)
Israel
Italy
- The Italian national football team usually plays at different stadiums throughout the country. However, the venue of the Italian Cup Final is the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
- Stadio Flaminio (rugby union)
Jamaica
- Independence Park (football and athletics)
- Sabina Park (cricket)
Japan
- Tokyo Dome (baseball)
- National Olympic Stadium (football and athletics)
- Yokohama International Stadium (football)
- Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium (rugby union)—The Japan national team plays matches at several venues around the country, but Chichibunomiya is the most commonly used, and the country's national federation is headquartered here.
- Kokugikan (Sumo)
Republic of Korea
- Seoul Olympic Stadium (athletics)
- Seoul World Cup Stadium (football)
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- Kim Il-sung Stadium (football and athletics)
- Rungrado May Day Stadium
Lesotho
- Setsoto Stadium (football and athletics)
Lebanon
Luxembourg
Libya
- 11 June Stadium
Liechtenstein
- Rheinpark Stadion (football)
Lithuania
Macedonia
- Philip II Arena (football)
Malaysia
- Stadium Negara (football)
- Bukit Jalil National Stadium (football and athletics)
Malta
- Ta' Qali Stadium (football)
Martinique
- Stade d'Honneur (football and athletics)
Mexico
- Estadio Azteca (football)
Moldova
- Zimbru Stadium (football)
Monaco
- Stade Louis II (football and athletics)
Morocco
Namibia
- Hage Geingob Stadium (rugby union)
Netherlands
- Olympisch Stadion (athletics)
- The national football team has no dedicated stadium. It plays at venues around the country.
New Zealand
Nicaragua
- Estadio Dennis Martinez (baseball and football)
Nigeria
- Abuja Stadium (football)
Northern Ireland
- Windsor Park (football)
Norway
- Ullevaal Stadion (football)
- Bislett Stadion (athletics)
Pakistan
Panama
- Estadio Nacional de Panamá (baseball)
- Estadio Rommel Fernandez (Football)
Paraguay
- Estadio Defensores del Chaco (football)
Peru
- Estadio Nacional (Lima) (football)
Philippines
- Rizal Memorial Coliseum (athletics, football)
- [[Phillipine Arena]{football(soccer)|football]])
Poland
- Stadion Śląski (Silesian Stadium) in Chorzów (football) - this stadium is designated by Polish Football Association as Poland national football team's official national stadium.
- Stadion Narodowy (football) - the stadium is currently under construction, prepared for Euro 2012, but according to Polish Football Association, this stadium will not be Polish national football team's official national stadium after Euro 2012.[1]
- National Rugby Stadium, rugby union national stadium
Portugal
- Estádio do Jamor (football and athletics); however, the national football team not always play there.
- Estádio Universitário de Lisboa (rugby union)
Romania
- Stadionul Naţional (football)
- Stadionul Naţional de Rugby (rugby union)—The national team plays occasional matches at other venues around the country, but the vast majority of matches are held here.
Russia
- Luzhniki Stadium (football and athletics)
Scotland
- Hampden Park (football)
- Murrayfield (rugby union)
- The Grange (cricket)
Singapore
- National Stadium, Singapore (football and athletics)
Spain
- The Spanish national football team usually plays at different stadiums throughout the country.
Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Spain, but Santiago Bernabéu Stadium has hosted important games like the 1982 FIFA World Cup Final.
Sierra Leone
- [National Stadium Football & All Athletic events]
South Africa
- Soccer City (football)
- Newlands Cricket Ground (test cricket)
- The Wanderers (one day international cricket)
- Ellis Park is the de facto 'National Stadium' for rugby union. However, the Springboks play at several venues throughout the country.
Sweden
- Råsunda Stadium (men's football)
- Future: Swedbank Arena
- Gamla Ullevi (women's football)
- Ericsson Globe (ice hockey)
Switzerland
- St. Jakob-Park (football)
Syria
- Abbasiyyin Stadium (football)
- Aleppo International Stadium (football)
Taiwan
- Kaohsiung National Stadium (a.k.a. World Games Stadium) (football and athletics)
Tanzania
Thailand
Trinidad and Tobago
- Hasely Crawford Stadium (football and athletics)
Turkey
- Atatürk Olympic Stadium (football and athletics)
Tunisia
Ukraine
- Olimpiysky National Sports Complex (football and athletics)
United States of America
- The United States national soccer team has no dedicated stadium or arena. They play at different venues throughout the country though more games, 21, have been held at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, DC than any other venue.
Uruguay
- Estadio Centenario (football)
- Estadio Charrúa (rugby union)
Venezuela
- Estadio Pueblo Nuevo (football)
Vietnam
- My Dinh National Stadium (football)
Wales
- Millennium Stadium (rugby union and football)
References
Categories:- National stadiums
- Lists of stadiums
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