The Estádio Nacional (English: National Stadium), also known as National Stadium Sports Complex ( pt, Complexo Desportivo do Estádio Nacional) and as ''Jamor Sports Complex'' ( pt, Complexo Desportivo do Jamor), is a
national football stadium used by the
Portugal national team and by
Belenenses SAD since 2018. It is located in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of
Algés, Linda-a-Velha e Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo
Algés, Linda-a-Velha e Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo is a civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below distr ...
, in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Oeiras, in the southwestern part of
Lisbon District
Lisbon District ( pt, Distrito de Lisboa, ) is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the cur ...
.
The stadium entered UEFA history as host of the first ever game played in UEFA club competitions. The game was played on 4 September 1955 between
Primeira Divisão
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
's third-placed team,
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
, and the Yugoslav champions, Serbian side
Partizan Belgrade
Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, link ...
. It ended as a 3–3 draw and was the first game to be played of the
first edition
The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants.
First edition
According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...
of the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
.
History
In 1933, the decision was made to construct the national stadium alongside the Jamor ravine.
The original design was authored by
Francisco Caldeira Cabral
Francisco Caldeira Cabral GCIH • GOIP (Lisboa, 26 October 1908 – Coimbra, 10 November 1992) was a Portuguese landscape architect . He was an active and internationally reputed landscape architect from the 1940s to the 1980s. He was a pionee ...
and Konrad Weisner and
Jacobetty Rosa
Miguel Simões Jacobetty Rosa (1901–1970) was a Portuguese architect. One of his greatest works was the designing of the Estádio Nacional (National Stadium), located near Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city ...
, with works beginning in 1939.
[
It was inaugurated on 10 June 1944 (]Portugal Day
)
, type = National holiday
, longtype = National Day
, image = EstatuaCamoesLisboa.JPG
, caption = Monument to Luís de Camões in Lisbon, Portugal (May 2005)
, official_name = ''Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comu ...
) by the Council president António Oliveira Salazar.
Work was complete in the Quinta da Graça (in 1953), to install the ''Comissão Administrativa do Estádio Nacional'' (''National Stadium Administrative Commission'').[
In 1961, construction on the hippodrome began, in addition to the first phase of work on the shooting range, by the ''Serviços de Construção e de Conservação'' (''Construction and Conservation Services'').][
The ''Plano de Ordenamento do Complexo Desportivo da Jamor'' (''Jamor Sports Complex Development Plan'') was issued on July 1982, ordered by the DGEMN ''Direção-Geral de Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais'' (''Directorate-General for Buildings and National Monuments''), authored by the architects Vasco Croft (coordinator), Nuno Bártolo and Joaquim Cadima, and by the landscape firm Professor Caldeira Cabral, Associados, Estudos e Projectos, Ld. (under the direction of landscape architects Francisco Caldeira Cabral and agronomist engineer João Caldeira Cabral.][ During this phase, diagnostic studies were performed to reformulate and re-evaluate the strategic importance of the complex.][
In May 1985, the study ''Estabelecimento de zona de protecção'' (to establish a protection zone) was ordered by the DGEMN, by architects Vasco Croft and Nuno Bártolo, to limit the sports complex zone, providing a buffer for military access, a ''non aedificandi'' zone and urban growth, in addition to expansion for green spaces and support areas for nautical sports.][
In 1993, a project to construct a sporting pavilion in Jamor was issued.][
In September 2012, the ]Portuguese Football Federation
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) ( pt, Federação Portuguesa de Futebol; ) is the governing body of football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as Portuguese Football Union (UPF) by the three existing regional associations ...
announced that the stadium would undergo renovation in which work would begin in 2014.
It was announced by the Rugby governing body ERC on 2 September that the Portuguese team would hold their home games at the Estádio Nacional. However, all their home games were played at the Portuguese national rugby teams home stadium of Estádio Universitário de Lisboa
The Lisbon University Stadium ( pt, Estádio Universitário de Lisboa) is a unit within the University of Lisbon, and a multivenue park located in Alvalade, Lisbon, comprising several sports facilities, and mostly known for its main venue and nam ...
.
On 6 February 2015, a tender was issued to cover the western edge of the audience seating for the rugby field.[
]
Architecture
Architecturally the stadium is noteworthy for its open east side, unusual for a stadium otherwise featuring a typical oval configuration. Its current capacity is 39,000 and it is the venue for the Portuguese football cup final.
Sport
Football
The stadium has traditionally hosted the final of the Portuguese Cup
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
(since 1946); in only five times was this game played in other venues and in total, 52 Cup finals have been played on the grounds. Portuguese football fans have bemoaned the historic stadium, owing to a lack of amenities; following the Euro 2004, there was a movement to move the event to one of the grounds built for the Euro football championships.
One memorable match was played here on 3 May 1949, when Benfica won 4-3 a testimonial to their captain Francisco Ferreira against Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
which turned out to be the last one played by the Grande Torino due to the Superga air disaster
The Superga air disaster occurred on 4 May 1949, when a Fiat G.212 of Avio Linee Italiane (Italian Airlines), carrying the entire Torino football team (popularly known as the ''Grande Torino''), crashed into the retaining wall at the back of th ...
the following day.
The most prestigious international game ever staged at the ''Estádio Nacional'' was the 1967 European Cup Final, played between Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
and Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
with the former winning 2-1 (becoming the first British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
European champion team, nicknamed the ''Lisbon Lions
The Lisbon Lions is the nickname given to the Celtic F.C., Celtic team that won the UEFA Champions League, European Cup at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967 European Cup Final, 1967, defeating Inter Milan 2–1. The name i ...
'').
In addition to hosting the Portuguese national team since in 1945, the site has held 49 international events for Portugal.
Rugby
The Rugby governing body ERC announced on 2 September 2014 that the Portuguese club Lusitanos XV
Lusitanos XV are a Portuguese professional rugby union representative team based in Lisbon which was created in September 2013 to compete in the 2013–14 European Challenge Cup. It was announced by the Rugby governing body ERC on 2 September t ...
would hold their home games of the 2013-14 Amlin Challenge Cup at National Stadium.ERCRugby.com
/ref> However, all their home games of the 2013-14 Amlin Challenge Cup were played at the Portuguese national rugby teams home stadium of Estádio Universitário de Lisboa
The Lisbon University Stadium ( pt, Estádio Universitário de Lisboa) is a unit within the University of Lisbon, and a multivenue park located in Alvalade, Lisbon, comprising several sports facilities, and mostly known for its main venue and nam ...
.
Events
There have been notable concerts at the stadium, including The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...
on 25 September 2007, as part of their The Police Reunion Tour
The Reunion Tour was a 2007–2008 worldwide concert tour by The Police, marking the 30th anniversary of their beginnings. At its conclusion, the tour became the third (now sixteenth) highest-grossing tour of all time, with revenues reaching o ...
and the Black Eyed Peas
Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...
on 30 May 2010, during their The E.N.D. World Tour. Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
are scheduled to play a post-pandemic show at the stadium on 31 July 2022, on the final date of their Legacy of the Beast Tour
The Legacy of the Beast World Tour was a concert tour by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, named after the comic and mobile game released by the band in 2017. Described as a "history/hits tour", Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood has revealed ...
.
References
Notes
Bibliography
{{Authority control
Football venues in Portugal
Rugby union stadiums in Portugal
National stadiums
Estadio Nacional
Sports venues in Lisbon District
Estadio Nacional
Sports venues completed in 1944
Sport in Oeiras, Portugal