Ghazi Stadium

Ghazi Stadium

Aerial view of the stadium in 2013
Full name	Ghazi Stadium
Location	District 16, Kabul, Afghanistan
Coordinates	34°31′07″N 69°11′38″E
Owner	Afghanistan National Olympic Committee
Capacity	25,000[2]
Surface	Artificial turf
Construction
Built	1923; 101 years ago (1923)
Opened	1923
Renovated	2011[1]
Tenants
Afghanistan national football team Afghanistan women's national football team Afghan Premier League (selected clubs) Kabul Premier League Women Kabul League

Ghazi Stadium (Dari: ورزشگاه غازى; Pashto: غازي لوبغالی) is a multi-purpose stadium located southeast of the Shahr-e Naw neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, across from Chaman-e-Hozori and Eidgah Mosque. The stadium is mainly used for local football training and matches.^[3] Nearby are the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee, the Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium, the Kabul International Cricket Stadium, and other grounds and facilities for sports.

Ghazi Stadium was built during the reign of King Amanullah Khan in 1923, who is regarded as Ghazi (Hero) for the Afghan victory in the Third Anglo-Afghan War and gaining independence for his nation after the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919. It was last renovated in 2011.^[1] The stadium has the capacity to accommodate 25,000 spectators.

Events

The first international football event held in Ghazi Stadium was between Afghanistan and Iran on January 1, 1941, the game was a draw with neither team scoring.^[2] In 1963, American musician Duke Ellington held a concert here as part of his tour sponsored by the US State Department.^[4]

In the year 2000 the stadium was once used by the Taliban government as a venue for public execution of a convicted murderer.

The stadium has also housed training facilities for the country's national women's boxing team, as documented in the film The Boxing Girls of Kabul.^[5]

See also

• Football in Afghanistan
• Sport in Afghanistan

References

1. "Kabul's Ghazi Stadium Reopens". TOLOnews. 15 December 2011.
2. Jeong, May (October 15, 2013). "Afghanistan United". Roads & Kingdoms. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
3. "Afghan Premier League". APL.
4. Whitlock, Monica (20 September 2013), When Duke Ellington played Kabul, BBC News
5. Vlessing, Etan (April 30, 2012). "NFB's 'The Boxing Girls of Kabul' Acquired by In Demand". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 January 2013.

External links

• Report from football players in training session at Ghazi Stadium / گزارش ازجریان تمرینات تیم فوتبال on YouTube, Ariana Television Network, December 5, 2021
• Ghazi stadium opening on YouTube, VOA Dari, December 15, 2011