10 Of The Weirdest Football Stadiums In The World

Football is the world’s most beloved Sport. As such, football posses the most passionate fans; like you, and the most impressive football arenas in the world. To support the sport’s crazed fans and growing crowd, every team’s football stadium is getting bigger and better. Each year, renovated football stadiums include more seats, better technology, and more modern and iconic infrastructures which provide you with an overall better experience, but wait a minute, today I am not discussing any beautiful football arenas in the world but a totally opposite of it. Yup, you guessed it right.

In this age of modern stadiums—now sites of architectural beauty and innovation—we're turning the limelight to their weirder counterpart.

Here are 10 of the weirdest football Stadiums in the world that you must have a glance:

1) The Rock Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Speciality: It hasn’t been built yet, but the literal-named Rock Stadium has already won several awards. It might look more like a Bond villain's lair to you than a sports ground, but this venue has a green heart, constructed as part of the surrounding environment rather than an interruption to it.

According to the A'Design Award & Competition, the Rock Stadium's initial brief was to design a stand-alone football stadium for 40,000 spectators in the Al Ain desert, but when the architects visited the Jebel Hafeet where the stadium was intended to be built, its slopes and overall orientation reminded them of the classic Greek amphitheater setting. That’s how the idea of carving into the mountain came to light.

2) Estadio Municipal de Braga, Braga, Portugal

Speciality: it’s built into a cliff. It consists of two enormous stands, one either side of the pitch which are connected by steel strings. Each has a capacity of 15,000, and can be accessed via the 5,000sqm plaza underneath the stadium.

Estadio Municipal de Braga is home to Sporting Clube De Braga team, also called as ‘The Quarry’ by the locals. It was built in 2004 for European Championships at a cost of €83m.

3) Kassam Stadium, Oxford, England

Speciality: You can feel little less glamorous than others on this list, this Stadium is engrossing none-the-less: it’s the coldest in this league because it has only three stands rather than the standard four.

The Kassam Stadium, also known as "Grenoble Road", has served as the home of the Oxford United Football Club since 2001.

 

Kassam Stadium is also home to a bronze ox statue, nicknamed Olly, which became a misfit in itself when it was sprayed pink by vandals in January, 2011.

4) Ottmar Hitzfeld Stadium, Zermatt, Switzerland

Speciality: The game gets a majestic view at this Swiss stadium, the highest football pitch in Europe at a whopping 2000 meters above sea level. The stadium is figured on a mountain, so when a ball goes over the wall, it’s a long way down to hunt it.

Grass doesn’t grow at this altitude, so the stadium uses artificial turf. Being too high up for cars to reach, both players and fans arrive via cable car instead. At last, don't forget your beer to keep you warm at such altitude.

5) Gospin Dolac Stadium, Croatia

As small the country, as tiny the Stadium. It has a capacity of 4000 spectators, the impressive thing about this small stadium is its close proximity to the edge of a cliff, complete with 500m drop into a lake. So, if you like diving than this stadium venue is best for you.

6) The Float, Marina Bay, Singapore

Speciality: The Float is the world’s largest floating stage, built in 2007 with a capacity of 30,000 spectators . It is made up of entirely steel, slightly larger than a football pitch. The host has played several sporting events, including the Youth Olympics in 2010 and the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix.

In fact, it hasn't hosted any football matches above Sunday League level. Instead, The Float has been used for concerts and other public displays.

7) Eidi Stadium, Faroe Islands

The Eidi Stadium is home to the tiny Faroe Islands National team, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, located between the Norweigan Sea and Lake Nioara Vatn.

Speciality: The stadium even has an agent in a boat whose job is to hunt all the balls lost in the sea.

8) Stadion Vozdovac, Belgrade, Serbia

Stadion Vozdovac is home to FK Vozdovac Belgrade team, built in 2012 at a height of 24m from ground level. 

Speciality: it is built on top of a shopping center having a capacity of 5,200 spectators. The shops underneath include a McDonald's, a KFC and a supermarket. This is the best place to enjoy a holiday with some shopping, grabbing food and watching football. In fact, this venue is best for men who want to impress his bae and himself simultaneously.

9) Estadio BBVA Bancomer, Guadalupe, Mexico

Estadio BBVA Bancomer is home to C.F. The Monterrey team, built in 2015 amid controversy – there remain concerns that its location in the shadow of the Cerra de la Silla mountain will have an adverse effect on the local wildlife. 

Speciality: if the game is crap, at least you can enjoy the majestic view from the top tier of one of the stands which has a capacity of 52,000 spectators.

10) Mmabatho Stadium, Mahikeng, South Africa

Mmabatho Stadium is home to no-one, although North West University use it as their training ground, built in 1981 by an Israeli construction firm. Although it is the fifth-largest sports arena in the country, it was not selected for use during the 2010 World Cup. 

Speciality: the way those stands have been built, it is designed in a peculiar design where spectators must sit in oddly-angled blocks that don't necessarily point at the pitch. It has a capacity of 60,000 spectators which makes it the fifth-largest sports stadium in the country. Though it was not selected for use during the 2010 World Cup. 

Source: Google, Wikipedia & Redbull

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