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The Qemal Stafa Stadium (), named after Qemal Stafa (1920–1942), a
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
hero, was a
national stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...
and the largest
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 ...
stadium in
Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...
,
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. Construction started in 1939 and the stadium was inaugurated in 1946 for the
Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup (officially ''Coupe Balkanique de Football'') was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. ...
, which was won by the
Albania national football team The Albania national football team () represents Albania in men's international Association football, football. It is governed by the Albanian Football Federation (FSHF), the governing body for football in Albania. It is a member of UEFA in Eur ...
. The stadium has been used for football matches of the
Albanian Superliga Kategoria Superiore (), also known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons with internet service provider, Abissnet, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Albania. At the top of the Albanian football league syste ...
and the national team, athletic events, and the six Albanian Spartakiads. Although it was enlarged in 1974 to accommodate up to 30,549 spectators, in the 1990s it became an
all-seater stadium An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Amer ...
, and its capacity was reduced to 19,700. The stadium was demolished in June 2016 to make way for the new national stadium called the
Arena Kombëtare Arena Kombëtare () is an All-seater stadium, all-seater, multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose Association football, football stadium located in the Albanian capital city of Tirana which was built on the ground of the former Qemal Stafa Stadium. ...
, was constructed on the same site and opened in November 2019. The Football Association of Albania and the Albanian government divide the property rights of the stadium between them; the football association holds 75% rights and the government 25%. National Arena, with a capacity of over 22,500 spectators built at a cost of
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
60 million. The new stadium is football-only; the athletics track was removed. It meets the highest UEFA category.


History

The original stadium was built in an
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...
shape, as idealized by
Gherardo Bosio Gherardo Bosio (19 March 1903 – 16 April 1941) was an Italian architect, engineer and urbanist, famed for his work in planning the centre of Tirana, the capital of Albania.http://www.shqiptariiitalise.com/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi-itali/shqiper ...
, a young
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
architect from
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. Its planned capacity was 15,000; Tirana at that time had less than 60,000 inhabitants so the stadium would have been more than sufficient. The stadium was originally designed in an elliptical shape and was to have been completely clad in marble.
Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944), was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law ...
symbolically placed the first stone in August 1939. Construction lasted four years; work was interrupted in 1943 after the Capitulation of Italy. During the German invasion of Albania the stadium was used by the occupying German forces to store vehicles and equipment. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, 400 workers and 150 daily volunteers finished construction of the stadium. The planned marble cladding was only installed on one stand. The stadium was named after Qemal Stafa, a Hero of Albania in World War II. The inauguration occurred when the
Albania national football team The Albania national football team () represents Albania in men's international Association football, football. It is governed by the Albanian Football Federation (FSHF), the governing body for football in Albania. It is a member of UEFA in Eur ...
played in the stadium for the first time on 7 October 1946, when the
Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup (officially ''Coupe Balkanique de Football'') was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. ...
was organised. The Cup was won by Albania; they overcame teams like
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, and
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 ...
in that competition. Afterwards the stadium was used for the
Albanian Superliga Kategoria Superiore (), also known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons with internet service provider, Abissnet, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Albania. At the top of the Albanian football league syste ...
matches,
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), competitio ...
events, and the six Albanian Spartakiads. The second football stadium in Tirana, the
Selman Stërmasi stadium The Selman Stërmasi Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Tirana, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of KF Tirana. The stadium holds 9,500 people (all seated). It is named after Selman Stërma ...
, was built in 1959 but by the late 1960s and early 1970s, the stadium's capacity was still not sufficient to meet the growing needs of the Albanian Superliga. The Qemal Stafa stadium was thus enhanced for the 30th anniversary of the Liberation of Albania in 1974. One of the stands was extended from 10 to 28 rows, taking the capacity of the stadium to 35,000 (no seats were installed at that time). An electronic display purchased in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
was also added. The enlargement of the stadium was celebrated in November 1974, on the occasion of the Third National Spartakiad. After 1991, other modernization projects took place, including the installation of seats which reduced the capacity to today's 19,700. In 1996, Qemal Stafa had illumination for evening sports event for the first time, with the funding being a gift from
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
. In 2008, the stadium was revamped with new areas for anti- doping procedures and internet rooms were added for journalists. The stadium is used by the
Albania national football team The Albania national football team () represents Albania in men's international Association football, football. It is governed by the Albanian Football Federation (FSHF), the governing body for football in Albania. It is a member of UEFA in Eur ...
and for the home games of Tirana-based Albanian football clubs:
KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. The men's football club is part of the multi-discipli ...
, Partizani, and Dinamo.


Recent issues


Plans for demolition and reconstruction

In June 2010, the Albanian government put the stadium on a list of assets for sale. During the summer of 2010, there was a disagreement between the
Albanian Football Association The Albanian Football Federation (; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. Headquartered in Tirana, it organises the national football leagues of Kategoria Superiore, Kategoria e Parë, Kategoria e Dytë, Kategoria e Tretë, Alba ...
(FSHF) and the Albanian government as to the disposition of the stadium. FSHF, sponsored by UEFA, proposed that the stadium, rather than being sold, should be totally donated by the government to FSHF, under the condition that the stadium receive UEFA funding for its reconstruction. On 8 October 2010, Albania's Prime Minister
Sali Berisha Sali Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as the 32nd Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. Berisha ...
declared that for the 100th anniversary of the
Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six da ...
, which will occur in 2012, a new national stadium will be built in Tirana. The new stadium, already approved by the Albanian Football Association and the government, will replace the existing one which will be demolished. The number of seats is expected to be more than 22,500.Top Channel Video - “Kleçka”, Supremja: Rigjykim i pjesshëm
The total construction cost will be around
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60 million, and 75% of the property rights of the stadium will belong to the Albanian Football Association, and the remaining 25% to the Albanian government. Once finished, the stadium is expected to be of category four, the highest UEFA category, and will potentially be able to host Champion League final matches. The demolition of the old stadium started in June 2016.


Renaming

In January 2010, after the death of the notable Albanian player Panajot Pano, an official request from the Partizani Tirana club and from the Albanian Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports was addressed to the Albanian government for the stadium to be renamed after the famous footballer.


The Qemal Stafa "Curse"

During the early 2000s, the stadium was considered a "curse" for other national teams by the Albanian media, partly due to the fact that Albania rarely lost their home games. In a period from September 2001 to October 2004, Albania went undefeated at this ground. Illustrious national teams such as
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, who had just won Euro 2004, were eclipsed by Albania in 2004, whereas teams like
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, and
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
had to settle for hotly contested draws in an intimidating arena. Before this period, during 1986 World Cup qualifying round, future semi-finalist
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
lost 2-0 at Qemal Stafa.


References


External links


National Arena of Albania Approved Project
(Albanian)
A 1980s military parade and civil demonstration t the stadium
{{Football venues in Albania Football venues in Albania Demolished buildings and structures in Albania Buildings and structures in Tirana Multi-purpose stadiums in Albania Athletics (track and field) venues in Albania KF Tirana Sports venues completed in 1946 Italian fascist architecture FC Dinamo City Sport in Tirana FK Partizani Tirana Sports venues demolished in 2016