The Aleppo International Stadium () is an Olympic-standard, multi-use, all-covered and all-seater stadium in the

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n city of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. It is the largest stadium in Syria, and is currently 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. It serves as the home ground of Al-Ittihad football club. The stadium has also hosted some home games of the Syrian national football team. The stadium was opened in 2007 and holds up to 53,200 spectators. The venue is located near the al-Hamadaniah Sports City in the southwestern part of Aleppo.

History

The construction of the stadium was launched in 1980, based on the design of the Polish Constructor Stanisław Kuś. It was scheduled to be completed in 1987 to become ready for the Mediterranean games. However, the construction process was stopped and delayed for 2 decades due to financial difficulties, until 2003. Finally, after a record period of 27 years of construction, the stadium became ready in early 2007. Officially, the stadium was opened on 3 April 2007 with an inaugural friendly match between Al-Ittihad SC and Fenerbahçe of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

which ended in a 2–2 draw. The first goal scored in the stadium came at the 8th minute of the inaugural match, through Abdul Fattah Al Agha. The Syrian president Bashar Al Assad and Prime Minister of Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

attended the opening ceremony and the match.

Civil war

It was severely damaged during the Syrian Civil War. Its facade and many of its indoor facilities were completely destroyed, and the pitch and tribunes took significant damage, especially from mortar fire. The Syrian government started the process of repairing the stadium after the conclusion of the Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016).

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

assisted Syria with repairs. On 18 December 2024, a fire broke out in the stadium under unclear circumstances following the

fall of the Assad regime On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed during a 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, major offensive by Syrian opposition, opposition forces. The offensive was spearheaded by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported mainly by the Turk ...

Facts

The stadium has five levels: the first level is the sport ground itself, with its surrounding facilities, the second level consists of training halls, different facilities and support services. The rest three levels are designed to host the attendants' seats; the first tier holds up to 25,000 seats while the second and the third host 14,000 each. The VIP hall located on the third level, is designed and decorated with oriental wood-works. The stadium occupies an area of 3.5 hectares out of the 33 hectares of the whole sports complex. It is provided with two electronic screens (7X15 meters each). The stadium is all-covered with a pre-built concrete.

Notable matches

Opening match

AFC club play-off matches

2010 AFC Cup

Syria national football team matches

References

External links

The stadium at WorldStadiums
{{Aleppo landmarks Sports venues completed in 2007 Football venues in Syria Sports venues in Aleppo 2007 establishments in Syria