Largest Football Stadiums in the world

Soccer matches have been fascinating the audiences for a long time and even more fascinating are the venues which host these sporting events. Here, we will look at some of the largest football stadiums in the world:

• Rungrado

 The full name of Rungrado Stadium is Rungrado 1st of May Stadium (opened on 1st of May). It is the largest stadium in the world, built over an area of 20.7 hectares and has an insane capacity of 150,000 spectators. It is a multi-purpose stadium located in Rungra Island, Pyongyang, North Korea. It is also used by the North Korea national football team (men as well as women) as their home stadium. The 13th World Festival of Youth and Students in 1989 was the first major event held in this stadium. While the stadium has hosted some major sporting events like Collision in Korea (largest professional wrestling pay-per-view) in 1995 and group stage matches for 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, it is more often the site of mass games and performances of the giant Arirang Festival.

• Melbourne Cricket Ground

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is a massive stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. This Australian sports stadium is also known as ‘The G’ and is the largest stadium in Southern Hemisphere, boasting a massive capacity of 100,024. It is managed and operated by Melbourne Cricket Club and has been very pivotal in the development of cricket. Built-in 1853, this stadium was listed on the Australian National Heritage list in 2005. The Melbourne Cricket Ground has witnessed all sorts of sports throughout its glorious history. It has witnessed the 1956 Summer Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games and two Cricket World Cups: 1992 and 2015. Home to the National Sports Museum, the MCG has hosted other major sporting events, including international rules football matches, international rugby union matches, and FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

• Camp Nou

The Iconic Camp Nou is in Barcelona (Catalonia region), Spain. With a seating capacity of 99,354, it is the largest stadium in Europe incapacity. The term ‘Camp Nou’ stands for a new field. The construction of this magnificent stadium started in 1954 as Barcelona’s previous stadium, Camp de Les Corts, had no room for expansion. Since its completion in 1957, it has been the home stadium of the famous club FC Barcelona. It has hosted two European Cup/Champions League finals in 1989 and 1999, four Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final games, five UEFA Super Cup games, four Copa del Rey finals, two Copa de la Liga finals. It also hosted five matches in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, including the opening game, two out of four matches at the 1964 European Nations’ Cup, and the football tournament’s final at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

• Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl is an athletic stadium best known for American Football, but this is also a coveted avenue for soccer matches. It is one of the two stadiums to have hosted the FIFA World Cup finals for both men and women. This National Historic Landmark with a capacity of 92,542 is in Pasadena (Northeast suburb of Los Angeles), California. The stadium was opened in 1922 and has been the home ground of teams like Caltech Beavers, Pasadena HS Bulldogs, Los Angeles Galaxy (from 1996-2002), etc. The Rose Bowl is best known for hosting college football, especially the Rose Bowl game but, it has also hosted   1994 FIFA World Cup Final, 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, and the 1984 Olympic Gold Medal Match, as well as numerous CONCACAF and US Soccer Federation matches.

• FNB Stadium

The FNB Stadium stands for First National Bank Stadium. It is located at Nasrec, Johannesburg, South Africa which is right next to the South African Football Association headquarters (SAFA). It is the largest stadium in Africa with a capacity of 94,736 and is managed by Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA). It is a football and rugby union stadium and the home stadium of Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa national football team and South Africa national rugby union team. The stadium is also a part of history as it was the site of Nelson Mandela’s first speech in Johannesburg after his release from prison in 1990 and served as the venue for a memorial service to him in 2013. It was also the venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final between the Netherlands and Spain.