The City Stadium is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

in George Town,

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, and serves as the home stadium of the

state

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 ...

team,

Penang FA Penang Football Club (or simply known as Penang FC) is a Malaysian professional football club based in George Town, Penang, that competes in the Malaysia Super League. Unofficially founded in 1920, officially as Football Association of Penang ...

. The oldest built stadium still in use in Malaysia, it was built in 1932 by the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

. The stadium has a capacity of approximately 25,000 people and is now mainly used for football matches involving

, such as the

Malaysian Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malaysi ...

. It is also well-known for the vociferous home support, dubbed the "''Keramat Roar''". The stadium was the site where

Mohd Faiz Subri Mohd Faiz bin Subri (born 8 November 1987) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Malaysia Super League side Penang. He is best known for his banana free-kick goal which won him the 2016 F ...

, a

player, scored a physics-defying free kick goal during a

match in 2016. He was awarded the prestigious

FIFA Puskás Award The FIFA Puskás Award is an award established on 20 October 2009 by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), at the behest of then-president Sepp Blatter, to be awarded to the male or female judged to have scored the mo ...

the following year for this particular effort.

History

Penang Island National Stadium (1945–2003)

Construction of the City Stadium commenced on 1 October 1945, just after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Upon completion in 1948, it was officially named the ''Penang Island National Stadium''. The stadium was expanded by the

in 1950 and underwent further renovation in 1953.

City Stadium (2003–present)

The Penang Island National Stadium was eventually renamed the City Stadium in 2003. Another round of renovation works was conducted in the 2000s. However, as George Town had already been densely developed, under the confined urban constraints the City Stadium could not be expanded further. The

had briefly moved to the

Penang State Stadium Penang State Stadium ( Malay: ''Stadium Negeri Pulau Pinang'') is a multi-purpose stadium in Batu Kawan, South Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 40,000 people. ...

Batu Kawan Batu Kawan ( Jawi: باتو كاون) is an island in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It is geographically separated from the rest of Seberang Perai by the Jawi and Tengah rivers. , Batu Kawan contained a population of 5,537. Long ...

on the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

due to capacity concerns, but in 2011, the state football team then returned to the City Stadium. The

has been playing major football matches at the City Stadium ever since. At present, the stadium can accommodate about 25,000 people, although its main gate has been reduced in size.

Notable matches

Exhibition matches

On 14 May 1975, the second exhibition match was played between the

Malaysia League XI The Malaysia League XI, commonly known as MSL All Stars, Malaysia Selection or Malaysia League Selection represents Malaysia Super League in friendly matches. Malaysia League XI mainly play non- FIFA 'A' international matches while the competiti ...

and

Arsenal Football Club Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

. The match ended in a 1–1 draw for both sides. The

also played an exhibition match against

BSC Young Boys BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reac ...

(Switzerland) which ended in a 1–1 draw on 25 January 1982. Before that, on 12 January 1982,

FC Bayern Munich II FC Bayern Munich II (''FC Bayern Munich Amateure'' until 2005) are the reserve team of German association football club FC Bayern Munich, they currently play in the Regionalliga Bayern. In 2010–11 they played in the 3. Liga, having qualified ...

played versus

, which ended in a 1–0 win for the home side.

FIFA Puskás Award The FIFA Puskás Award is an award established on 20 October 2009 by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), at the behest of then-president Sepp Blatter, to be awarded to the male or female judged to have scored the mo ...

In 2017, a

player,

, made history as the first Asian to win the

, an annual award given to the football player who was judged to have scored the best goal of the previous year.

won the award for his physics-defying free kick on 16 February 2016 during the

match in the City Stadium between

and

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

, which the home team won 4-1.

References

{{Reflist Football venues in Malaysia Athletics (track and field) venues in Malaysia Multi-purpose stadiums in Malaysia Sports venues in Penang Buildings and structures in George Town, Penang Penang F.C.