stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in
Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
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 ...
matches and is the home ground of ASM Oran. Another club,
SCM Oran
Sporting Club Médiouni d'Oran ( ar, النادي الرياضي لمديوني وهران), known as SCM Oran or SCMO for short is an Algerian soccer club based in the Médiouni quarter of the city of Oran. The club was founded in 1945 and its ...
also play there. The stadium holds 20,000 people.
History
The stadium was built in 1927 in the Les Amandiers district (now Haï El-Louz) of Oran under the name of the Stade Alenda. It was renovated on 19 December 1948, when its name was changed to Stade Vincent Monréal; it was the biggest stadium in Oran at the time. After the
independence of Algeria
Independence Day ( ar, عيد استقلال, french: Jour de l'Indépendance), observed annually on 5 July, is a National Holiday in Algeria commemorating colonial Algerian independence from France on 5 July 1962.
Algerian War (1954–196 ...
, it was renamed Stade Habib Bouakeul in commemoration of Habib Bouakeul, a martyr of the
Algeria War
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
.
The stadium was equipped with
artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...
to replace natural
grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
; a newer turf was installed in 2013.
Matches
Below is a list of some important matches played at the stadium:
Ahmed Zabana Stadium
Ahmed Zabana Stadium ( ar, ملعب أحمد زبانة) is a multi-purpose stadium in Oran, Algeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It is the home ground of MC Oran. The stadium holds 40,000.Abdelkader Fréha Stadium
Stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...