, often called or simply , is a

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 ...

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 ...

located in Midori-ku, Saitama,

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Currently,

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

club

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

use this stadium for home games. It is the largest football-specific stadium in Japan and is one of the largest stadiums in Asia. It has hosted the semi-finals of both the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It is also the home stadium of

Japan national football team The , nicknamed the , represents Japan in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan. Japan was not a major football force until the e ...

in almost every

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualifying matches.

Location

The stadium is a 15 to 20 minute walk from Urawa-Misono Station on the Saitama Railway Line.

History

Built by Azusa Sekkei to host matches of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, construction was completed in September 2001. The stadium holds 63,700 people, although for segregation reasons league games hosted at the ground have a reduced capacity of 62,300. The Saitama Stadium hosted four matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, including co-host

's first match against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Between 2005 and 2007, the Urawa Red Diamonds'

local derby Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

rival

Omiya Ardija is a professional association football club based in Ōmiya in Saitama, Japan. Its "hometown" as designated by the league is the whole of Saitama city, which is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. Omiya competed in the J1 League follow ...

hosted matches here along with Urawa Komaba due to expansion of its home

Ōmiya Park Soccer Stadium is a football stadium located in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama city, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It is the home stadium of J2 League club Omiya Ardija. It was formerly known as Omiya Football Stadium. Since 14 May 2007 it has been called for the naming ...

2002 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:

Features

*Building area: 54,420m² *Total floor area: 62,674m² *Covered area: 29,000m² *Stand inclination: Max. 30 degree angle

Gallery

References

External links

*
Stadium Guide Article
{{Olympic venues football Sports venues in Saitama (city) Urawa Red Diamonds 2002 FIFA World Cup stadiums in Japan Venues of the 2020 Summer Olympics Football venues in Japan Sports venues completed in 2001 Olympic football venues 2001 establishments in Japan