Cairo Stadium
| Stad El Qahira El Dawly | |
 |
|
| Location | Nasr City, Cairo |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 75,000 |
| Record attendance | 130,000 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1955–1960 |
| Opened | 1960 |
| Renovated | 2004 |
| Architect | Werner March |
| Tenants | |
| Egypt national football team (former home of Al-Ahly and Zamalek) | |
The Cairo Stadium or "Stad El Qahira El Dawly", is an Olympic-standard, multi-use stadium with an all-seated capacity of 75,000. The architect of the stadium is the German Werner March, who had built from 1934 to 1936 the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Before becoming an all seater stadium, it had the ability to hold over 100,000 spectators, reaching a record of 120,000. It's the foremost Olympic-standard facility befitting the role of Cairo, Egypt as the center of events in the region. It is also the 69th largest stadium in the world. Located in Nasr City; a suburb north east of Cairo, it was completed in 1960, and was inaugurated by President Gamal Abd El Nasser on 23 July that year, the eighth anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.
The Stadium is located about 10 km west of Cairo International Airport and about 10 km (30 min) from downtown Cairo.
In 2005, in preparation for the 2006 African Cup of Nations it underwent a major renovation, and was brought up to 21st century world standard along with all its multi-game Olympic facilities.
Cairo Stadium is known for its tremendous atmosphere and its very large capacity. This was never more evident than during the 2006 African Cup of Nations, which were held in Egypt. When Egypt had their matches in Cairo Stadium, the stadium seemed to nearly erupt.
Before seats were added to all sections in 2005, the stadium was notorious for holding more people than it was intended to. Without seats, fans were able to squeeze together and sit in aisles. Because of the previous seating layout, Cairo International Stadium was able to host over 120,000 fans for the 1986 African Cup of Nations Final match between Egypt and Cameroon. Behind the enormous crowd, hosts Egypt defeated Cameroon.
Cairo Stadium is a strong symbol of Egyptian football. Nearly all of the most important Egyptian matches are held there. It carries an extremely rich history which includes many memorable football moments that range from Hossam Hassan's famous header to secure Egypt's attendance in Italia 90 World Cup, numerous African Cup of Nations tournaments which included the latest 2006 trophy, and the famous derby matches between Ahly and Zamalek.
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