Basra International Stadium ( ar, مدينة البصرة الرياضية) is a sports complex in

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

, southern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

Overview

Its construction started on 1 January 2009 and was completed on 12 October 2013. The sports city was funded by the government of Iraq with a budget of $550 million. It contains a main stadium with a capacity of 65,000 people, a secondary stadium with a capacity of 10,000, four Five Star hotels and other sports-related facilities. The contract of this project was given to Abdullah Al-Jaburi, a major Iraqi construction contractor, and two American companies,

360 architecture 360 Architecture was an American architectural practice acquired by HOK in 2015. The firm provided services for a range of project types including corporate headquarters and commercial office buildings, sports arenas, stadiums and ballparks, mun ...

and

Newport Global Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

. The main stadium is a multilevel structure with 65,000 capacity, 20 suites, and 230 VIP seats. The complex also has VIP lounges and restaurants, spectator facilities, 205 VIP underground parking stalls and a tunnel connecting the main stadium to the secondary stadium. The secondary stadium has a capacity of 10,000. The basic structure was cast-in-place concrete with precast stadia seating. The roof structure is steel and cantilever 30 meters from the back support column of the upper deck with a 15-meter back-span. The stadium is enveloped with a curtain wall of multidirectional curved elements. The complex has 10,000 parking spaces in total. The stadium is the tenant for Naft Al-Janoob and

Al-Mina'a Al-Minaa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الميناء الرياضي, lit=Port Sports Club) is an Iraqi multi-sport club based in Al-Maqal, Basra that participates in the Iraq Division One, the second tier of Iraqi football. It is one of the mo ...

sports clubs who both play in Basra and contest the Basra Derby. Iraq played their first international home game in four years at the stadium on 1 June 2017, beating

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

1–0. It was also the first international game played at the stadium. On 10 October 2019, Iraq played their first competitive (not friendly) international game at home after eight years against

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. The result was a 2–0 win.

Name

The official name is Basra International Stadium but an other appellation is also recurrent in Iraqi sports circles and commonly used in

arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

as a nickname : ''ملعب جذع النخلة'' which literally means ''Palm Trunk Stadium''. This denomination, also reflected in the external facade of the stadium which is inspired by the undulating bark of the date palm trees, is a clear reference to one of the characteristics of the city of

, well known for the cultivation and planting of vast fields of date palm trees.

Gallery

File:Basra International Stadium Opening.JPG, Flag bearers entering the pitch followed by both teams,

Zamalek SC Zamalek Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الزمالك للألعاب الرياضية), commonly referred to as Zamalek, is an Egyptian sports club based in Giza. It is one of the most successful football clubs in Africa and the Middle East, an ...

and

Al-Zawra'a SC Al-Zawraa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الزوراء الرياضي) is an Iraqi sports club based in Utayfia, Karkh District (near Tigris River), Baghdad. Their football team compete in the Iraqi Premier League, the top-flight of Iraqi footbal ...

as well as a crowd of journalists and photographers, during the soft opening ceremony File:Basra International Stadium Opening 2.JPG, Soft opening match between Zamalek and Al-Zawra'a

Events

* 2018 – International Friendship Championship * 2018 – AFC Cup Final * 2019 – International Friendship Championship * 2023 - Arab Gulf Cup

References

Football venues in Iraq Basra Athletics (track and field) venues in Iraq Multi-purpose stadiums in Iraq National stadiums Al-Mina'a SC Sports venues completed in 2013 2013 establishments in Iraq Buildings and structures in Basra {{Iraq-sports-venue-stub

Overview

Name

Gallery

Events

See also

References