Al Masry Club Stadium (), formerly known as Port Said Stadium (), was a multi-use all-seated stadium in Al Manakh,

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

, Egypt, which was mostly used for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and was the home of Al Masry between 1958 and 2012. The stadium, which had a seating capacity of 18,000, was opened on 16 October 1955. In 2021, the stadium was closed, and on 4 July the demolition process began and was completed by early 2022. It will be replaced by a new stadium in the same location under the same name.

Port Said Stadium riot

On 1 February 2012, following a league match between Al Masry and

Al Ahly AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

, the

Port Said Stadium riot On 1 February 2012, a massive riot occurred at Port Said Stadium in Port Said, Egypt, following an Egyptian Premier League football match between Masry and Ahly. Seventy-four people were killed and more than 500 were injured after thousands ...

took place, which resulted in the deaths of 72 Al Ahly fans, alongside 1 Al Masry supporter and 1 police officer, making it the deadliest tragedy in Egyptian sporting history. Some were stabbed and clubbed, while others were thrown off the stands or died in a

crowd crush Crowd collapses and crushes are catastrophic incidents that can occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When a body of people reaches or exceeds the density of , the pressure on each individual can cause the crowd to collapse ...

as they were trying to escape through a closed stadium gate in the back of the stands. Hisham Sheha, an official in the Egyptian health ministry, said the deaths were caused by stab wounds, brain hemorrhages, and concussions. Over 500 were injured. The stadium was banned from hosting any official football matches as a result, with an exception made in 2018 when the stadium hosted all Al Masry home fixtures in their

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

campaigns during the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and 2018–19 seasons. The last official match hosted by the stadium was played on 15 December 2018.

Later history

In late 2019, the stadium was closed to prepare for demolition process, which was originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt The COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Egypt on 14 February 2020. Background On 1 ...

. More than one year later, demolition work finally began on 4 July 2021. Previously, the stadium was owned by the Governorate of Port Said, and was known as Port Said Stadium, until 5 January 2016 when Port Said governor Adel El Ghadban agreed to transfer the stadium's ownership to Al Masry and changing its name to Al Masry Club Stadium as a result. The stadium also hosted some matches in tournaments held in Egypt, including

1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship The FIFA U-17 World Championship 1997, the seventh edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Cairo, Ismailia, Alexandria, and Port Said in Egypt between 4 September and 21 September 1997. Players born after 1 January 1980 could particip ...

2006 Africa Cup of Nations The 2006 Africa Cup of Nations was the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa. It was hosted by Egypt. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Egypt w ...

, 2007 Pan Arab Games Football Tournament and

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was hosted by Egypt from 24 September to 16 October 2009. The tournament was initially going to take place between 10 and 31 July. However, the 2009 FIFA Confedera ...

References

External links

Photos
a
worldstadiums.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masry Club Stadium Football venues in Egypt

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Port Said Sport in Port Said Sports venues completed in 1955 1955 establishments in Egypt 2021 disestablishments in Egypt Defunct football venues in Egypt Sports venues demolished in 2021