Estádio Raimundo Sampaio, more commonly known as Independência ( pt, Independence), is a
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 ...
stadium located in the
Horto neighborhood of
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the List of cities in South America, 13th-largest city in ...
, Brazil. It was built in 1950 for the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
, held in Brazil. Initially its capacity was 30,000 people, but after the reconstruction between 2010 and 2012, the capacity is approximately 23,000 people.
It belonged to the defunct
Sete de Setembro Futebol Clube, which is why the stadium is called Independence (the name of the team, September 7, is
Brazil's Independence Day). The stadium is currently property of
América Futebol Clube, but has been leased to the
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
state government for 20 years, as a counterpart to the injection of public resources to demolish the old stadium and build the new one.
Estádio Independência is the second most important stadium in Belo Horizonte, behind only
Mineirão
Mineirão (), officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto (''Governor Magalhães Pinto Stadium'') is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais. It was established in 1965, and it is located in Belo Horizonte.
It served as a ...
. Its formal name honors Raimundo Sampaio, a former chairman of Sete de Setembro. América plays their home games in there.
History
Construction started in 1947, in preparation for the
1950 FIFA World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...
. The inaugural match was the World Cup match between
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, won by the former by 3–0, and played on June 25, 1950. The first stadium goal was scored by Tomasevic. One of the most famous upsets in
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
history was played here, the
1-0 upset by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
over
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at that 1950 World Cup.
After the construction of
Mineirão
Mineirão (), officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto (''Governor Magalhães Pinto Stadium'') is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais. It was established in 1965, and it is located in Belo Horizonte.
It served as a ...
, ownership of the stadium was transferred by the Minas Gerais government to
Sete de Setembro
The Independence Day of Brazil ( pt, Dia da Independência, ), commonly called Sete de Setembro (, 'Seven of September'), is a National Day, national holiday observed in Brazil on 7 September of every year. The date celebrates Brazil's Brazilian ...
.
Originally the stadium belonged to the Government of Minas Gerais, but with the inauguration of Mineirão in 1965, became the property of the club Sete de Setembro (the reason the stadium is popularly known as "Independence", according to the historical date). With the merger of this club with América, the latter became the owner. At this stage América won Campeonato Brasileiro Série B in 1997 in the confrontation against Vila Nova-GO and in a match against Náutico. For the final phase 18,900 paying fans attended. América also won at that stage the Brazilian Series C Championship in 2009.
In 1999, In partnership with Atlético, América built a metal-structure grandstand, increasing the stadium capacity to about 30,000 people, plus an electronic scoreboard. Owing to a lack of proper security, this grandstand was deactivated shortly thereafter. The end of the partnership also resulted in the removal of the scoreboard. Independência already served as a venue for music festivals, such as Pop Rock Brazil and the Axé Brazil.
The attendance record is 32,721 spectators, set in the match between Minas Gerais and Guanabara (Carioca), won by Minas Gerais 1–0, and played on January 27, 1963, it was the first final match of the 1962
Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais The Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais was a Brazilian football tournament contested by state teams. It was Brazil's most important football competition until the 1950s. Its last edition was played in 1987, when the CBF tried to revive ...
, played by state teams.
Renovation
In 2010, Independência was demolished apart from its dressing rooms, and a brand new stadium was built in its place to host the games of
Atlético Mineiro
Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to:
Sports Teams Athletico
*Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy
*Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...
and
América Mineiro while
Mineirão
Mineirão (), officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto (''Governor Magalhães Pinto Stadium'') is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais. It was established in 1965, and it is located in Belo Horizonte.
It served as a ...
went through renovations to host the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
. During the stadium's renovation, all three Belo Horizonte teams played in the
Arena do Jacaré
The Estádio Joaquim Henrique Nogueira, or Nogueirão, also nicknamed Arena do Jacaré (Caiman's Arena), is a football stadium located in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais state, it seats 20,020 people. The stadium's official name comes from a farmer fro ...
, located in nearby city
Sete Lagoas
Sete Lagoas (meaning 'Seven Lagoons' in Portuguese) is a city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The municipal area is 537;km² while the population was 241,835 in 2020.
Location
Sete Lagoas is situated about 70 kilometres from Belo Horizon ...
. In 2012, the renovation was completed and
América Mineiro returned to its original home venue, which is being also used to host games of
Atlético Mineiro
Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to:
Sports Teams Athletico
*Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy
*Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...
.
Após atrasos, reformas do estádio Independência seguem a todo vapor
' Globoesporte.com (07/04/2011)
File:Pré-jogo - 18-11-12.JPG, The stadium before a game
File:Independência - Atlético vs Arsenal.jpg, Atlético Mineiro
Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to:
Sports Teams Athletico
*Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy
*Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...
v Arsenal de Sarandí
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
1950 FIFA World Cup
In the
1950 FIFA World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...
, the Independência hosted three matches in the Group Stage, including the notable upset
United States vs England.
References
*''Enciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro'', Volume 2 - Lance, Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A, 2001.
External links
Templos do Futebol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estadio Independencia
Estadio Independencia
Estadio Independencia is a multi-use stadium in Estelí, Nicaragua. It is currently used for football matches and is the home stadium to Real Estelí.
The stadium holds 5,000 people, and has been renovated and equipped with synthetic turf in o ...
América Futebol Clube (MG)
Independencia
Football venues in Minas Gerais
Independencia
Football in Belo Horizonte
Sports venues completed in 1950