The Hafeziyeh Stadium ( fa, ورزشگاه حافظیه) 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 ...

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. It is currently used mostly 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 ...

matches and is the home stadium of

Persian Gulf League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

side,

Fajr Sepasi F.C. Fajr Shahid Sepasi Shiraz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگى ورزشى فجر شهید سپاسی شیراز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Fajr-e Sepasi-ye Shiraz''), commonly known as Fajr Sepasi Shiraz, or Fajr Sepasi, is an Iranian footbal ...

The stadium also is used for some matches of

Bargh Shiraz F.C. , ''Lâlahhai-ye Naranji'') , shortname = , founded = , dissolved = , ground = Hafezieh StadiumShirazIran , capacity = 20,000 , chairman = Hadi Shirvani Shiri , owner = Hadi Shirvani Shiri and Amir Arsalan H ...

in Azadegan League. The stadium holds 20,000 people and is all-seater. The stadium was the host venue of 2012 Hazfi Cup Final. The stadium is located in the Center of Shiraz in the Hafezieh district, near the Tomb of Hafez and is easily accessible for most people living in the city.

Background

In 1940, Iran's then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Mohammad-Ali Foroughi Mohammad Ali Foroughi ( fa, محمدعلی فروغی; early August 1877 – 26 or 27 November 1942), also known as Zoka-ol-Molk ( Persian: ذُکاءُالمُلک), was a writer, diplomat and politician who served three terms as Prime Mini ...

visited Shiraz and proposed a project for Shiraz to make a bid for holding the

1976 AFC Asian Cup The 1976 AFC Asian Cup was the 6th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Iran between 3 and 13 June 1976. The field of six ...

with Shiraz as second host city. The operation of the venue was officially begun on 1 March 1945 and after near ten months, the stadium was opened in January 1946. The opening match was between

Bargh Shiraz , ''Lâlahhai-ye Naranji'') , shortname = , founded = , dissolved = , ground = Hafezieh StadiumShirazIran , capacity = 20,000 , chairman = Hadi Shirvani Shiri , owner = Hadi Shirvani Shiri and Amir Arsalan ...

and

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at '' N ...

in a friendly match, held on 20 January 1946 which Bargh won 1-0. Hafezieh stadium has been renovated twice, firstly in 1972 to make venue ready for the Asian Cup, which later was cancelled when

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

Bagh Shomal Stadium The Takhti Stadium (, ''Vârzeshgah-e Texeti'') formerly known as Bagh Shomal Stadium (, ''Vârzeshgah-e Baq Shimal'') is a multi-use stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Iran Pro L ...

was made second host because of its greater capacity. The second renovation began in 2009 and the capacity of the venue was upgraded from 20,000 to 22,000 seated.

Notable matches

The match between

Fajr Sepasi Fajr Shahid Sepasi Shiraz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگى ورزشى فجر شهید سپاسی شیراز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Fajr-e Sepasi-ye Shiraz''), commonly known as Fajr Sepasi Shiraz, or Fajr Sepasi, is an Iranian football ...

and

in 2001–02 Iran Pro League was named the Shiraz's most attendance match with a 20,984 fans watching the match. It was the first Shiraz derby which was Fajr won. The stadium also held four

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (Jām-e Hazfi; ) is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Ch ...

finals. The first was during

2000–01 Hazfi Cup The 2000–01 Hazfi Cup was the 14th season of the Iranian football knockout competition. Final Leg 1 Leg 2 References 2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 Unite ...

. Fajr faced Zob Ahan and won the first leg 1-0 in

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

. The second leg was held in Hafezieh and Fajr won 2-1, leading to winning the title for the first time. Fajr was also a finalist in the

2001–02 Hazfi Cup The Hazfi Cup 2001–02 is the 15th staging of Iran's football knockout competition. Bracket *Teams from same city meet only once Semi-final Final Leg 1 Leg 2 References *http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/iran02.html ...

, faced Esteghlal in first leg in Shiraz. It ended with a 2-1 win for Esteghlal which helped them win the title with a 2-2 draw in second leg. Fajr also qualified to the final of 2002–03 Hazfi Cup, another final with Zob Ahan but it was a loss for Fajr. The first leg held in Isfahan & they draw(2-2),The second leg was in hafezie stadium & again they draw(2-2) but one of them should win that match so in penalties Zob Ahan won(6-5). The

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the 2011–12 Hazfi Cup was also held at this stadium but Fajr wasn't a finalist. Esteghlal beat

Shahin Bushehr Shahin Lian Shahrdari Bushehr Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال شاهین شهرداری بوشهر, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Shahin Shiherdari-ye Bushiher'') is an Iranian football club based in Bushehr, Iran. They are one of the most ...

4-1 on penalties on 15 March 2012 in a single match.

Balloon Festival

On the occasion of the Shiraz week, 12 hot air balloon flew at the same time across the city for the first time in Shiraz. The ceremony was held in two stages. First in sunset and other in night. After the end of the night ceremony, the floodlight was held in Hafezieh Stadium.

Renovation

After the criticisms about 2012 Hazfi Cup finals held in Hafezieh because of bad grass at winter, the grass of the stadium was improved for the start of the 2012

Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

season.

References

External links