UAE- Zayed Sports City Stadium: An architectural, iconic masterpiece

(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) ABU DHABI, 18th May, 2020 (WAM) -- Despite the stoppage of all football, there were several positive recent news concerning Asia, most notably the selection of the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi as one of the greatest stadiums in Asia in the last 30 years, in light of its distinguished architectural design and its capacity to host major sporting events.

The official website of the Asian Football Confederation pointed out that the Zayed Sports City Stadium is one of the Great Grounds and Iconic Stadiums of Asia and has a unique design with beautiful arches. The stadium was designed in 1974 and inaugurated in January 1980. Zayed Sports City Stadium is a traditional, open-air stadium that is defined on its exterior by iconic arches. Within the stadium is a full-size football pitch and a wide concrete apron surrounds it.

Following its inauguration, the stadium hosted many major championships, including the sixth Arabian Gulf Cup in 1982, the Asian Youth U19 Championship in 1985, several Olympic Games qualifiers and the Asian Cup qualifiers, the 12th Arabian Gulf Cup in 1994, the AFC Asian Cup Finals in 1996, the World Youth Cup in 2003, the 18th Arabian Gulf Cup in 2007, the Club World Cup in 2009, 2010, 2017 and 2018, and the Asian Nations Cup Finals in 2019, as well as the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi 2019.

The stadium had its first comprehensive redevelopment in 2009, and its capacity was reduced to 43,000 spectators. Development work continued in 2015 when it was turned into an architectural masterpiece. The stadium currently has 42,355 seats for the public, and 1,436 seats for VIPs, in addition to a large platform for media professionals with a capacity of 277 journalists.

The stadium is located inside a sports city established on an area of 12 million-square-feet for all types of sports, including swimming, athletics, tennis and bowling. Its construction project was divided into three phases, the first included the main football stadium and track and field facilities around the stadium, in addition to six other grass training pitches with terraces and capacity of some 1,000 spectators. The city has an external wall measuring 5.6 kilometres, a public services facility, power stations, and a network of internal roads with a total length of 14 kilometres. The first phase was completed in January 1980, at a cost of AED550 million.

The second phase of the project included an indoor stadium with a capacity of 5,000 spectators and equipped with indoor facilities according to the highest Olympic standards, while the third stage included swimming pools, a cultural complex, a social club, and an international tennis court complex. The total cost of the three phases amounted to AED1.2 billion. An ice skating rink was then constructed on an area of 6,000 kilometres.

In other news, international player Omar Abdulrahman is on a list of 20 players active in Germany and is one of the best midfielders in the Champions League, and the goalkeeper, Khalid Issa, was nominated in the Champions League's best squad list for the last four years. Defenders Ismail Ahmed and Ahmed Al Yassi were also among the best defenders.

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