Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho is a multi-use

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 completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

in the neighbourhood of Ponta da Mina southeast of the centre of

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álv ...

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

and is located on Avenida das Nações Unidas. The building is classified as a Heritage of Portuguese Influence and Origin (SIPA). It is currently used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches. The stadium can hold 6,500 people and the field size is 105 × 68 m. The surface is

Artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

Stadium details

The stadium is home to Andorinha, Sporting Praia Cruz and

Sporting São Tomé Sporting may refer to: *Sport, recreational games and play *Sporting (neighborhood), in Alexandria, Egypt Sports clubs * Alexandria Sporting Club, a sports club from Alexandria, Egypt * BFA Sporting, a football club from Beirut, Lebanon *Real Spor ...

, other clubs that play at the stadium include Vitória Riboque, Agrosport and 6 de Setembro. A former club that once played at the stadium is Porto Folha Fede who once played as Porto de São Tomé. The stadium is equipped with floodlights and a scoreboard. The stand located where the main entrance is, has a roof over it. Its interiors and exteriors are coloured pink with its entrance section coloured orange and blue. Before its recent renovations in 2015 the entrance section was coloured pink and had white columns and brown rims. Its doors are of neoclassical style with a mixture of Mediterranean architectural styles; the remaining things are modernistic. The stadium also has a running track, and track events are sometimes held at the stadium.

History

The stadium was built around the 1920s as a football field. The building was opened in 1950. It was the first football stadium in the nation. The stadium was formerly named Estádio Sarmento Rodrigues. It was renovated in 2002 and expanded in 2003. The Taça Nacional de São Tomé e Príncipe (Santomean Cup) is played here annually. Some continental football competitions were played at the stadium including the

2013 CAF Confederation Cup The 2013 CAF Confederation Cup (also known as the 2013 Orange CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the CAF Confederation Cup, Africa's secondary club football competition organized by the Confederation of African ...

with CD Guadalupe and the 2014 CAF Champions League. Since Sporting Praia Cruz withdrew, the 2016 edition was not played here.

References

Football venues in São Tomé and Príncipe Athletics (track and field) venues in São Tomé and Príncipe Buildings and structures in São Tomé Sport in São Tomé

Andorinha Sport Club GD Cruz Vermelha Sporting Praia Cruz Vitória FC (Riboque) {{SãoToméPríncipe-struct-stub

Stadium details

History

See also

References