World’s strangest football grounds built by KGB spies and sex tape fiends
The Qatar World Cup will see some of the most incredible football stadiums ever built with one made from 974 shipping containers.
With Doha's 'Stadium 974' set to hosts its first group game on Tuesday, a brilliant new book has unearthed some of the planet's must-see and strangest stadiums.
Author Ryan Herman's Remarkable Football Grounds reveals the jaw-dropping grounds that should be on every football fanatics bucket list.
READ MORE: What Brazil's 2014 World Cup stadiums look like now – from bus shelter to gig venue
Out now, Ryan discloses the secrets of the stellar stadiums of the Premier League and some of the most extraordinary places where people play the game from the Arctic Circle to an island in the Pacific Ocean.
They include a stadium that looks like a giant’s children’s playset, one where the pitch is at the end of two Olympic-sized ski jumps and what may be the worst ground in world football.
As he reveals here, some of the stories behind those grounds are just as bizarre…
Where's the best footy stadium you've ever been? Have your say in comments section below
Independence Stadium, Mmabatho, South Africa
Here is a worthy contender for football’s worst ground, and it's not just because some of those stands are clearly pointing in the wrong direction to the pitch. Amazingly, there is another one just like it 300km away in Odi, South Africa.
The Independence Stadium project was overseen by Russian-Israeli businessman Shabtai Kalmanovich.
He brought in award-winning architect Israel Goodovitch, who had no experience of designing a sports stadium.
Kalmanovich was accused of corruption and exploiting cheap labour, did a runner to Sierra Leone, and was eventually imprisoned by the Israelis for being a KGB spy.
He later moved to Moscow and promoted concerts for Michael Jackson and Liza Minelli, before being shot dead in 2009 what the police described as a 'contract killing.' His killers were prosecuted and sentenced in September 2022.
Timsah Park, Bursa, Turkey
Bursaspor’s home ground was originally named Timsah Arena and then became Timsah Park. The name change happened after Turkish President Erdogan decided the word ‘arena’ would be banned because it originated in ancient Rome and ‘had no place in modern Turkey’ (although he’s quite happy to keep the ruins of Ephesus).
The idea for a croc-themed exterior comes from the team’s nickname, the ‘Green Crocodiles’. This dates back to when Ugandan striker Majid Musisi came up with a goal celebration known as the ‘crocodile walk’ against German side Karlsruher SC in 1995.
The players would get on the floor and move along while holding each other’s ankles. It is more entertaining than it sounds. Honestly.
Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan
The Other Final is a documentary about a game played on the same day as the 2002 World Cup Final when Brazil beat Germany 2-0. This match, however, was between Bhutan and Montserrat, the two lowest-ranking FIFA nations (202 and 203, respectively).
It was played at Changlimithang stadium in the Buddhist country of Bhutan, and the home team won 4-0. The ground has a royal pavilion on the halfway line that hosted a royal wedding in 2008 and can be rented by the public at weekends.
At around 7,650 feet (2,330 metres) above sea level, it is one of the highest stadiums in the world, and one of the hardest to reach.
Alpensia Ski Jump, Gangwon, South Korea
In 2017, Gangwon FC team played a series of K League games in the shadow of two Olympic-standard ski jumps built for the 2018 Winter Games at the Alpensia Ski and Golf Resort. It was an idea that almost felt like it was designed for Instagram.
The landing area covered the size of a football pitch and stands had already been installed in preparation for the Olympics. So, local officials moved Gangwon, a team that had played in four different home grounds since being founded in 2008, to Alpensia.
Seoul FC’s Montenegrin striker Dejan Damjanovic was less than impressed. Despite scoring the only goal in a 1-0 away win in front of the ski jumps he said: "This is not a place to play football."
Tasiilaq Stadion, East Greenland
In summer, Tasiilaq Stadion in East Greenland hosts the Coastal Championship, which brings together communities that are otherwise cut off from each other for most of the year.
They watch matches surrounded by buildings that resemble the hotels and houses from Monopoly. The reason why those buildings are colour-coded dates back to the 18th century when the colour would denote the purpose of each property: red was a shop, yellow for a hospital or a doctor, blue for a factory…
The ground was built in 1960 against the backdrop of the Qimmeertaajaliip Qaqqartivaa mountain range and it is the largest piece of flattened land in a volcanic area.
The playing surface used to be a mixture of sand and ash until an artificial pitch was bought for and donated to the village by the Danish FA.
Henningsvaer Stadion, Henningsvaer, Norway
Until 2014, few people outside of this remote fishing village had seen or heard of Henningsvaer and its picture postcard football pitch. Then youth team coach Ole Johan Wilk posted drone footage of the pitch and its stunning surroundings on YouTube. Within a week his video had reached 300,000 views.
Two years later, observers posed the question ‘‘Is this the world’s most awesome football stadium?’ accompanied by a poll that asked ‘Would you move to a remote Norwegian fishing village to play on this pitch? 72% said ‘Oh Hell, yes!’
In case you are wondering what those long wooden poles are on top of the banks around the side of the pitch, they are racks for drying out fish. Well, this is Norway.
Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
From the outside the Aveiro Stadium looks like something that Playmobil created, and the random colour scheme continues throughout the ground even extending to the changing rooms. Portuguese architect Tomás Taveira wanted it to resemble a giant set of multicoloured toy bricks and it is probably the most fun-looking ground in football.
Aveiro was purpose-built for the Euros, but the problem was that after the tournament finished the stadium lacked a purpose. Plus, it’s one thing designing a multicoloured arena, there’s also the cost of maintaining it.
This was Taveira’s return to the big league of architecture, and his appointment understandably caused outrage in some quarters. Back in the 90s, he was at the centre of a scandal after taping himself having sex with women in his office without their consent. The tapes got leaked online.
Remarkable Football Grounds by Ryan Herman out now from Pavilion Books, £25
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