Most Impressive Football Stadiums in the World
The beautiful game of football is made up of stories, legends and magical moments passed down from generation to generation. And every beautiful game needs an impressive stage on which to be set. All around the world, there are stadiums big and small that cater for football fixtures for a variety of countries and teams.
There are lots of stunning football stadiums to be found on every corner of the planet. Here’s just a few of the most magnificent at which sporting memories have, and are still, being made:
Allianz Arena - Munich, Germany
Home to Bavarian giants Bayern Munich, the Allianz Arena was the first in the world to be built with a full colour changing exterior. The inflated plastic panels can be turned white, red or blue and can famously be seen from the mountain peaks in Austria, some 80 km away.
With a capacity of over 75,000 for domestic matches, the stadium nicknamed ‘the dinghy’ played host to six matches during the 2006 World Cup. Four million people visit the Allianz Arena every year, enough to fill Bondi Beach 100 times over.
The Maracanã - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Probably the most iconic stadium in South America, the Maracanã has one of the most famous histories of any in world football. Opened in 1950 when Brazil staged the World Cup, the arena accommodated almost 200,000 spectators during the final when the host nation lost to Uruguay.
The Maracanã’s capacity has been significantly reduced over the years, but it remains Brazil’s biggest stadium, able to hold 78,000 people.
Home to four professional teams - Vasco, Botafogo, Flamengo and Fluminense - the Maracanã was extensively renovated ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. In 2021 it was agreed to change the name of the massive bowl arena to the 'Edson Arantes do Nascimento - Rei Pele Stadium' to honour Brazil’s most famous player.
Accor Stadium - Sydney, Australia
There are plenty of impressive Australian stadiums used for a variety of sports, but Sydney’s Accor Stadium (formerly known as Stadium Australia) is one of the most impressive. The Melbourne Cricket Ground may be the jewel in Australia’s sporting crown, but the enormous stadium with its 100,000 capacity is predominantly the home of AFL and cricket.
The national football (soccer) team may lead a nomadic lifestyle occasionally playing at the MCG, the AAMI Park and others, but Accor Stadium gets the nod for some of the notable matches played at the venue since its opening in 1999.
Able to hold 83,500 spectators, the stadium has served as an Olympic venue and will play host to the 2023 Women’s World Cup final. Australia is notable for its plethora of versatile stadia that accommodate various sports and Stadium Australia is no exception. The arena has already been redeveloped on more than one occasion and Stadium Australia is one of the biggest in the country that can host football matches.
Camp Nou - Barcelona, Spain
Home to one of football’s true giant clubs, Camp Nou is the largest soccer stadium in Europe. With room for over 99,000 fans all bedecked in the famous blue and red of Barcelona, Camp Nou has been the venue for many of the club’s legendary games and players - most notably Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
Opened in 1957, the stadium in the east of the Spanish city hosted five matches in the 1982 World Cup when 120,000 spectators squeezed into the cavernous bowl.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - London, England
Wembley may be England’s iconic national stadium, but just 12 miles to the west of the London showpiece, is an arena that’s equally impressive. Home to the club nicknamed Spurs, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened in 2019 and reputedly cost more than 1.8 billion AUD. The biggest club stadium in the capital of England, the 63,000-seater arena immediately began winning awards as the best in the world. It is one of the most modern and technologically advanced stadiums in sport.
As with any major sports stadium, a lot of time and hard work was put into building the stadium. To see how the stadium was developed over the years, the Tottenham Hotspur website has a great time-lapse video of how their home was built. The construction of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium took three years and the entire project cost around £1 billion.
With a football pitch that can be divided and removed to allow other events such as NFL and concerts to be hosted, the stadium boasts an impressive glass walkway up on the roof, lights up in cool blue for evening matches, and has four traditional ‘ends’ rather than following the modern tendency for bowl stadiums.
Participating in matches around the world
Whether it’s the FA Cup, FFA Cup, Serie A, or the Bundesliga, there are plenty of ways that football fans can enjoy their favourite matches. Not only can they buy stadium tickets to see the match in person, but they can also watch games on TV and participate in football betting online too. However, there’s nothing quite the same as being in the middle of a crowd of fans all cheering for their team to win.
