The Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium ( az, Tofiq Bəhramov adına Respublika Stadionu) is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

in Baku,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It served as the home ground for the

Azerbaijan national football team The Azerbaijan national football team ( az, Azərbaycan milli futbol komandası) is the national football team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. It represents Azerbaijan in international foot ...

until they moved to the Baku Olympic Stadium. It holds 31,200 seats making it the second largest stadium in the country. The stadium is also used by the Azerbaijan Premier League clubs in the final rounds of European competitions.

History

The Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium was built in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. Its construction started before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in 1939, but was suspended. When its construction resumed, it was finished by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

prisoners of war. Initially the stadium was named after

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

(1878–1953) and built in form of C (Cyrillic: Cтaлин). After the

20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was held during the period 14–25 February 1956. It is known especially for First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev's "Secret Speech", which denounced the personality cult and dictatorship ...

in 1956 it was renamed after

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

(1870–1924) as a part of de-Stalinization. In 1993, the stadium was named after the famous football referee

Tofiq Bahramov Tofiq Bahramov ( az, Tofiq Bəhramov; ; russian: Тофик Бахрамов; 29 January 1925 – 26 March 1993) was a Soviet footballer and football referee from Azerbaijan. He was notable for being the linesman who helped to award a cont ...

(1925–1993) who died in the same year. In 2011, the Presidential Reserve Fund of the State Budget of Azerbaijan for 2011 allocated $10 million for capital repairs and reconstruction of the stadium as it could be used as potential venue for

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

. During a reconstruction process, the number of seats were increased from 29870 to 31200 and the grass cover football stadium was properly renewed according to FİFA standards. In addition, the projectors which were used to light the stadium were also renewed with innovative and modern technologies. President Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium after major overhaul and reconstruction on 16 August 2012. The stadium was one of the venues for the group stages of the

2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the third edition of the women's football tournament, and was held in Azerbaijan from 22 September to 13 October, following a decision by the executive committee on 19 March 2010. Defending champions So ...

. One Group A match, a semi-final and the final were played there.

Events

The

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

competitions of the

European Youth Olympic Festival The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for youth (14 to 18 years old) athletes from the 50 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. The festival has a summer edition, held for the fir ...

( EYOF) was held at the stadium between July 22 and 27, 2019. The stadium also hosted archery at 2015 European Games. Aside from sporting uses, several concerts have been played at Tofiq Bahramov, with such big names as

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is n ...

, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez and Tarkan playing.

Concerts

Gallery

File:Tofiq Bahramov Stadium.jpg, Panorama of the stadium. File:Tofik Bakhramov Stadium from Satellite.png, The view of the stadium from satellite. File:Fans of Karabakh FK.jpg, Qarabağ FK during the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

qualifier match. File:Azerbaijan flag, Qarabağ (AZE) - Saint Etienne (FRA) football match (4).jpg, Big flag of Azerbaijan during the Europa League group match.

References

{{2015 European Games venues Football venues in Baku Athletics (track and field) venues in Azerbaijan

Football venues in the Soviet Union Athletics (track and field) venues in the Soviet Union Sports venues completed in 1951 Neftçi PFK Multi-purpose stadiums in Azerbaijan 2015 European Games venues

History

Events

Concerts

Gallery

See also

References