, the or simply , is a

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 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 ...

located in Midori-ku, Saitama,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Currently,

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

club

Urawa Red Diamonds The or simply Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ, ''Urawa Rezzu''), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, are a professional association football, football club in the city of Saitama (city), Saitama, part of t ...

use this stadium for home games. It is the largest football-specific stadium in Japan and is one of the largest stadiums in Asia. It has hosted the semi-finals of both the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

and the football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It is also the home stadium of

Japan national football team The , also known by the nickname , represents Japan in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan. Prior to the late 1980s, Japan's nat ...

in almost every

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

qualifying matches.

History

Built by Azusa Sekkei to host matches of the

, construction was completed in September 2001. The stadium holds 63,700 people, although for segregation reasons league games hosted at the ground have a reduced capacity of 62,300. The Saitama Stadium hosted four matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, including co-host

's first match against

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 ...

. Between 2005 and 2007, the Urawa Red Diamonds'

local derby A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. One of the first known sports rivalries occurred in the Roman Empire between the Blues and th ...

rival

Omiya Ardija is a Japanese professional association football club based in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Ōmiya, Saitama Prefecture. Its "hometown" (as designated by the league) is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. The team currently play in J2 League, the ...

hosted matches here along with Urawa Komaba due to expansion of its home

Ōmiya Park Soccer Stadium is a association football, football stadium located in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Ōmiya-ku, Saitama (city), Saitama, Japan. It is the home stadium of J2 League club RB Omiya Ardija. It was formerly known as Omiya Football Stadium. Since 14 May 2007 ...

.The stadium was also featured in the remastered version of the anime Captain Tsubasa where in the middle school tournament the stadium was mostly shown as the main stadium.

Transport issues

The ease of access of the stadium has been a problem known to the prefectural government, academics and the home team for years, mostly concerning the congested road traffic and the fact that it is 20-minute walk from the nearest station, Urawa-Misono. From

Tokyo station Tōkyō Station (, ) is a major railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is not far ...

, the stadium is 45 minutes by train plus 1.2 km walking on foot, or 40 minutes drive. A survey in 2017 found that on an international matchday, with typically 60,000 attendance, 60.5% (36,000) arrived by railway, 25.2% (15,000) drove cars, 8.7% (5,200) took intra-prefecture shuttle bus, and 3,300 (5.6%) arrived by bicycle, motorbikes or on foot. On a J. League club match typically with 40,000 attendance, railway usage dropped sharply to 40.6% while usage of all other modes of transport increased. The road congestion caught international attention in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, scheduled to kick-off at 19:35, October 15, 2024.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, staying in the five-star Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo in downtown Bunkyō, Tokyo, took 2 hours 9 minutes (16:37-18:46) in their chartered coach to arrive the stadium. Ordinary driving time from

Tokyo Station Tōkyō Station (, ) is a major railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is not far ...

is estimated to be 40 minutes, according to the stadium.

FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the

, and held the following matches:

Olympic Games

Structural design

*Building area: 54,420 m² *Total floor area: 62,674 m² *Covered area: 29,000 m² *Stand inclination: Max. 30 degree angle

Gallery

References

External links

*
Stadium Guide Article
{{Olympic venues football Sports venues in Saitama (city) Urawa Red Diamonds Venues of the 2020 Summer Olympics Football venues in Japan Sports venues completed in 2001 2001 establishments in Japan