Koševo Stadium ( Bosnian: Stadion Koševo), also Koševo Olympic Stadium or Stadium Asim Ferhatović - Hase (''Stadion Asim Ferhatović Hase'') is a multi-purpose stadium located in the

Koševo Koševo ( cyrl, Кошево) is a neighborhood in the municipality of Centar in central Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located between the older parts of the city under Stari Grad and the newer more modern parts of the city under th ...

neighborhood of

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. Its official name is Olimpijski stadion Koševo – Asim Ferhatović-Hase. The stadium was opened by the city, and leased on longterm basis by football club

FK Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Sarajevo ( sh-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Сарајево; , English language, English: Sarajevo Football Club), is a professional Association football, football Sports club, club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosn ...

. The club proposed the new name for its sporting and football events, in honor to its former footballer and club's legend,

Asim Ferhatović Asim Ferhatović "Hase" (; 24 January 1933 – 23 January 1987) was a Bosnian professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his football career in 1948 with hometown club FK Sarajevo, for whom he made his first-team debut in 1952. ...

. It hosted the opening ceremony of the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) and commonly known as Sarajevo '84 (Serbian Cy ...

Construction

The stadium was opened in the year 1947. In 1984, it was reconstructed for the

, and is therefore often called ''Olympic Stadium''. In July 2004,

proposed the new name for sporting and football events, in honor to its former player and club's legend from the 1960s, Asim Ferhatović - Hase. Today, the total capacity of Koševo is 34,500 seats, and up to 70,000 for musical and various public events, such as U2's

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

as part of their

PopMart Tour The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 1997 album '' Pop'', the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks in 1997 and 1998. Much like the band's previous Zoo TV Tour ...

in 1997 and

Dino Merlin Edin Dervišhalidović (born 12 September 1962), known professionally as Dino Merlin, is a Bosnian singer-songwriter and record producer. Born in Sarajevo, he founded and led the band Merlin (Yugoslav band), Merlin, one of the best-selling Rock b ...

's Burek tour in 2004 and

Hotel Nacional "Hotel Nacional" ("National Hotel") is a song by Cuban-American recording artist Gloria Estefan. It was released as the second single from her studio album '' Miss Little Havana'' (2011). Written by Estefan, the song portrays the need to dance, g ...

in 2015, or hosting of papal pastoral visitations by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

between 12–13 April 1997 and

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 6 June 2015. It was also the home stadium of the

Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team (; ; ) represents Bosnia and Herzegovina in men's international Association football, football competitions, and is governed by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Until 1992 Bo ...

History

Construction works started in 1947. The stadium was literally buried into a local hill thus merging with its natural surroundings. In 1950, a pitch and a tartan track were also added. The first international football match, between

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, was played in 1954. In 1966, the stadium hosted an athletic championship for the Balkans. It was renovated for that occasion. A new administration building was built, so were the new locker rooms and a restaurant. A modern scoreboard and new lighting were also provided. The stadium was renovated for the third time after the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

, in 1998. By adding the chairs on every stand the seating capacity of the stadium was reduced to 34,500. Throughout its football history, the stadium was usually a home ground for

's and

FK Željezničar FK or fk may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block * Funky Kong, a video game character Place * F ...

's international matches. The Sarajevo audience witnessed many great matches against Europe's finest clubs such as

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

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 Foot ...

etc. The stadium's largest attendance was recorded in a

1981–82 Yugoslav First League The 1981–82 Yugoslav First League season was the 36th season of the First Federal League (), the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. The season began on 26 July 1981 and ended on 2 Ma ...

match between Sarajevo and Željezničar. Allegedly, up to 60,000 people attended the game, though the exact number was never officially published. In April 2021, the stadium was leased to

for operating the stadium for the next 30 to 45 years, making the stadium FK Sarajevo's de facto property.

1984 Winter Olympics

On 7 February 1984, the Koševo stadium hosted the opening ceremonies of the

for which it was thoroughly renovated and expanded. About 50,000 people attended the ceremonies. The west stand held 18,500 seating places at that time.1984 Winter Olympics official report.
pp. 10-14, 90.

Notable events

International Football Matches

Notable Club Friendlies and Exhibition Matches

Concerts

Zdravko Čolić Zdravko Čolić (, ; born 30 May 1951) is a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian-Serbian Pop music, pop singer and widely considered one of the greatest vocalists and cultural icons of the former Yugoslavia. Favourably compared to Paul McCartney and T ...

- 7 September 1978 (Putujući zemljotres Tour, the concert got stopped midway through due to heavy rain) * U2 - 23 September 1997 (

) *

- 31 July 2000 (''

Sredinom ''Sredinom'' (trans. ''Through the middle'') is the eight studio album of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian musician Dino Merlin, his third as a solo artist. It was released in 2000 in music, 2000 and is considered to be one of Dino Merlin's best wo ...

'' Tour, guests: Adi Lukovac & Ornamenti,

Ivana Banfić Ivana Banfić (; born 16 November 1969), formerly known as I Bee, is a Croatian dancer and pop singer. She became famous in the 1990s during the period of popularity of dance music in Croatia. Banfić was born in Zagreb. She released her first al ...

, Amir Bjelanović Tula, Miro Asotić) *

- 31 July 2004 ('' Burek'' Tour, guests:

Željko Joksimović Željko Joksimović ( sr-Cyrl, Жељко Јоксимовић, ; born 20 April 1972) is a Serbian vocalist, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He plays 12 different musical instruments including accordion, piano, guitar a ...

Nina Badrić Nina Badrić (; born 4 July 1972) is a Croatian pop singer and songwriter. She began performing in the early 1990s, and competed in " Dora" – the Croatian selection for Eurovision Song Contest 4 times. She won 7th place in 1993 with "Ostavljam ...

, Edo Zanki, Almir Hukelić, Gani Tamir) *

Bijelo dugme () is a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav Rock music, rock band, formed in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1974. is widely considered to have been the most popular and the best-selling band ever to exist in the former S ...

- 15 June 2005 *

Haris Džinović Haris Džinović (born 26 September 1951) is a Bosnian folk singer, composer and lyricist. Džinović is one of the best known singers of Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, c ...

- 23 June 2007 (guests:

Halid Bešlić Halid Bešlić (; born 20 November 1953) is a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian folk music, folk singer and musician who has been performing professionally since 1979. Bešlić's singing career was one of the most successful in SFR Yugoslavia, Yugo ...

Hari Varešanović Hajrudin "Hari" Varešanović (born 16 January 1961 in Sarajevo) is a Bosnian musician. Varešanović remains the vocal soloist, primary composer and lyricist for the musical group Hari Mata Hari. Biography Hajrudin Varešanović was born in 1 ...

Enis Bešlagić Enis Bešlagić (born 6 January 1975) is a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian actor. In the 2000s, he starred in several films such as ''Fuse (film), Fuse'' (2003), ''Summer in the Golden Valley'' (2003), ''Ivko's Feast'' (2005), ''Ram za sliku moje ...

) *Moj ummete 2007 - 28 July 2007 *

- 19 July 2008 ('' Ispočetka'' Tour, guests:

Vesna Zmijanac Vesna Zmijanac (, ; born 4 January 1957) is a Serbian singer. Debuted in 1979 with the single "Hvala ti za sve", she has been dubbed the "Queen of Sadness" (''Kraljica tuge'') being known for her emotional vocal delivery and melancholic ballads. ...

Tony Cetinski Anthony Cetinski (born 31 May 1969) is a Croatian pop singer. Biography Born into a family of musicians in Pula (then SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia), Cetinski began singing when he was 15 years old with various local groups. He moved from Rovinj to ...

, Eldin Huseinbegović,

, Baby Dooks, Elvedin Krilić) *

Hari Mata Hari Hari Mata Hari is a Bosnian pop band. Hari Mata Hari is the stage name for the singer Hari Varešanović. The group originated from the city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The group has performed over 1,000 concerts and s ...

- 10 August 2009 (''Sreća'' Tour, guests:

, Dino Merlin,

, Dražen Žerić Žera, Eldin Huseinbegović) *

- 12 June 2010 (guests:

Jelena Tomašević Jelena Tomašević ( sr-cyr, Јелена Томашевић, ; born November 1, 1983) is a Serbian pop singer. She represented Serbia at 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing sixth overall with the song "Oro". Discography Albums Sin ...

) *

- 31 July 2010 (''Kad pogledaš me preko ramena'' Tour, guests:

Nikša Bratoš Nikša Bratoš (born 17 August 1959) is a Croatian musician. He is known for having played in bands Bonton Baya, Valentino and Crvena jabuka. He has worked on songs for a variety of Croatian pop artists. Biography Bratoš was born in 1959, an ...

) *

- 22 June 2013 (''Romanija'' Tour, guests:

, Enes Begović, Dženan Jahić,

Viki Miljković Violeta Miljković ( sr-Cyrl, Виолета Миљковић; born 18 December 1974), better known as Viki Miljković, is a Serbian singer and television personality. Born in Niš, she started her recording career in the early nineties and has r ...

, Colonia, Enis Bešlagić) *

- 25 July 2015 (''

'' Tour) *

- 19 August 2016 *

Marija Šerifović Marija Šerifović ( sr-cyr, Марија Шерифовић, ; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer. Born in Kragujevac, she is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland with "Molitva", becoming Serbia's ...

- 1 July 2018 (guests:

Jelena Karleuša Jelena Karleuša ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Карлеуша; born 17 August 1978) is a Serbian singer and media personality. Born and raised in Belgrade, she began her music career by releasing her debut album ''Ogledalce'' (1995) at the age of 16 ...

)

Other events

celebrated Mass in the stadium in front of 50,000 people - 13 April 1997 *

celebrated Mass in the stadium in front of 67,000 people - 6 June 2015

References

External links

SoccerwayWorld Stadiums
{{Authority control Venues of the 1984 Winter Olympics FK Sarajevo Architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina k National stadiums Olympic stadiums Sports venues in Sarajevo Centar, Sarajevo Music venues in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1947 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Sports venues completed in 1947 Yugoslav Bosnian and Herzegovinian architecture