The Akhmat Arena () is a multi-use

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

, Russia, named after former

President of the Chechen Republic The head of the Chechen Republic or head of Chechnya (; ; formerly president of the Chechen Republic or president of Chechnya until 5 March 2011) is the highest office within the political system of the Chechen Republic, as head of state and he ...

Akhmad Kadyrov Akhmat-Khadzhi Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov (23 August 1951 – 9 May 2004) was a Chechen politician and revolutionary who served as Chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War. At the outbreak ...

. It was completed in May 2011, and is used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches. The stadium hosts home matches of

FC Akhmat Grozny Republican Football Club Akhmat (; ), commonly known as Akhmat Grozny, and formerly as Terek Grozny from 1958 to 2017, is a Russian professional Association football, football club based in Grozny that plays in the Russian Premier League. His ...

. The stadium was designed with a capacity of 30,000 spectators. It replaced

Sultan Bilimkhanov Stadium Sultan Bilimkhanov Stadium is a stadium in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. It is currently used for football (soccer), football matches and is the home ground of FC Terek-2 Grozny. The stadium holds 10,200 seats. Before the start of the Russian Premier ...

as the home of FC Terek. The grand opening took place on 11 May 2011. The first competitive match in Akhmat Stadium took place on 20 May 2011.

History

In 2004 budget for construction of stadium was allocated by order from

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

. Project documentation was developed in 2005. Construction started in 2006 and lasted approximately 5 years. Akhmat-Arena was opened 11 May 2011. Opening ceremony included laser show and performances by celebrities of Chechen and worldwide music, such as

Toto Cutugno Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (; 7 July 1943 – 22 August 2023) was an Italian Italian popular music, pop singer-songwriter, musician, and television presenter. He was best known for his worldwide hit song, "", released on his 1983 album of the sam ...

, C. C. Catch and

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...

. The festivities also included a friendly match between the "

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

" and "World" teams. The "Caucasus" team was represented by

Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician and current head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the ...

Arsen Kanokov Arsen Bashirovich Kanokov ( Kabardian: Къанокъуэ Арсен, ''Qanoqwə Arsen''; ; born February 22, 1957) is a Russian politician, who served as Head of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic from 2005 to 2013. Biography Arsen Bashirovic ...

, Nikita Isaev,

Rinat Dasayev Rinat Fayzrakhmanovich Dasayev (, ; born 13 June 1957) is a Russian football coach and a former goalkeeper. Throughout his club career, he played for Volgar Astrakhan, Spartak Moscow and Sevilla. At international level, he played at three Wo ...

and was managed by

Alexander Khloponin Alexander Gennadyevich Khloponin (; born March 6, 1965) is a Russian ex politician. Khloponin served Governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai, a ''krai'' located in Siberia, from October 2002 to January 2010. From 2010 to 2018, Khlonopin served as Deputy ...

, while the "World" team included famous ex-footballers such as

Enzo Francescoli Enzo Francescoli Uriarte (; born 12 November 1961), nicknamed "El Príncipe" (), is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and as one of Ur ...

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-t ...

Franco Baresi Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining th ...

Fabien Barthez Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971) is a French racing driver and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he played football in both France and England with Toulouse, Marseille, Monaco, Manchester United and ...

and Iván Zamorano and was managed by

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

. Caucasus won 5–2. The first official match at Akhmat-Arena took place on 20 May 2011 between

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

teams Terek Grozny and

FC Anzhi Makhachkala Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional Association football, football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founded in 1991, the club last competed in the third-tier Russian Footb ...

. The hosts won the match 1–0.

Notable matches and events

* 1 July 2013: 2012–13 Russian Cup Final between

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

and

. CSKA won the match in a penalty shootout. * 15 November 2016:

Russia national football team The Russia national football team () represents Russia in men's international football. It is controlled by the Russian Football Union (, ), the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home ground is the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and ...

match against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Russia won 1–0. * 2018: During the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

, the stadium was used as a training ground by the

Egypt national football team The Egypt national football team (), nicknamed Pharaohs (), represents Egypt in men's FIFA, international Association football, football, and is governed by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), the governing body of football in Egypt. Egypt ...

References

External links

Official websiteStadium informationPhotos of stadium under construction
Football venues in Russia FC Akhmat Grozny Buildings and structures in Grozny Sports venues completed in 2011 Sport in Grozny {{Russia-sports-venue-stub