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Thống Nhất Stadium (''lit. Unification Stadium)'' (), formerly Cộng Hoà Stadium (Vietnamese: ''Sân vận động Cộng Hoà'') is a
multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...
in
Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. It is located at 138 Đào Duy Từ Street, Ward 6, District 10. 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 and is the home stadium for
Ho Chi Minh City FC Ho Chi Minh City Football Club (HCMC FC, ), simply known as TP Hồ Chí Minh, and commonly known as TPHCM, is a professional football club based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The club competes in the V.League 1, the highest level of Vietnamese ...
of the
V.League 1 The V.League 1 (), also called LPBank V.League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football league in Vietnam, controlled by the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF). It is contested by 14 clubs who play each ...
. The stadium has a capacity of 14,400.


History


Early years

In 1929,
Chợ Lớn Chợ Lớn (, zh, 堤岸), usually anglicized as "Cholon" in English sources, is a quarter of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Chợ Lớn consists of the ...
Municipal Commission decided to build a new stadium in the city. The stadium was named ''Renault Field'' after the city commission's chairman at the time - Philippe Oreste Renault. The stadium was opened on October 18, 1931 by an inauguration football match between Cho Lon Police and Gia Dinh Stars with the Cho Lon side taking a 1-0 win. In its early day, the stadium only consisted of one 20-step spectators' stand, which was covered by a reinforced cement roof.


1955 – 1975

From 1959 to October 1960, new stands and a lighting system were added to the stadium while the main stand was expanded. This expansion increased the capacity of the stadium to 30,000 people. The stadium was then also renamed to ''Cộng Hòa Stadium'' ("Republic Stadium"). It was renovated again in 1967. Between 1955 and 1975, the site had witnessed a number of major sporting events including an over-capacity 30,000 strong crowd to watch the elimination football match between
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
and
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
leading up to the
1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...
. The
Merdeka Cup Merdeka Tournament () is an international friendly Soccer, football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day (Malaysia), Independence Day. It is mainly played at Stadium Merdeka, Independence Stadium, in Kuala Lumpur. "Me ...
gold trophy, won by South Vietnam in 1966, was kept at the stadium. Its whereabouts are not known after the
Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...
. During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, the stadium was also the scene of terrorist attacks by the
Vietcong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the Communism, communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vi ...
. Explosives detonated on October 4, 1965 killed 11 and injured 42 others.


Post-1975

On September 2, 1975, the stadium was renamed ''Thống Nhất Stadium'' ("Reunification Stadium") after a football match between Hải Quan F.C. and Ngân Hàng F.C. took place. The stadium has been the home stadium to Hồ Chí Minh City F.C. (formerly known as Saigon Port F.C.) since the club's formation in 1975. Between 1995 and 2002, it was also the home ground to Hồ Chí Minh City Police F.C. In 2002, renovation was done to prepare the stadium to host Group B men's football matches at the 2003 Southeast Asian Games. It was usually home to
Vietnam national football team The Vietnam national football team () represents Vietnam in men's senior international association football and is controlled by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the governing body of football in Vietnam. The team's nickname is the Golde ...
alongside
Hàng Đẫy Stadium Hàng Đẫy Stadium (), also known as Hanoi Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 22,500 spectators; however, due to the dilapidating condition, the upper leve ...
in
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
until 2003 when
Mỹ Đình National Stadium The Mỹ Đình National Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Nam Từ Liêm district, Hanoi, Vietnam. It has a capacity of 40,192 seats and is the centerpiece of Vietnam's National Sports Complex. It was officially opened in September 2003 ...
was completed. In 2016, Sài Gòn F.C. selected Thong Nhat as the home stadium for their first season in
V.League 1 The V.League 1 (), also called LPBank V.League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football league in Vietnam, controlled by the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF). It is contested by 14 clubs who play each ...
. Until 2017, the stadium has a capacity of 19,450 people. Since then, the stadium has been renovated in phases. In the first phase, the A1 and A2 sections of the main stand were repainted and a new 1500-
lux The lux (symbol: lx) is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the irradiance, as perceived by ...
floodlight system was installed in the last quarter of 2017. In 2018, the playing field was redone and more than 6,700 seats were added to the B, C and D stands. This reduced the capacity of the stadium to approximately 15,000 people. In 2019, existing seats in stand A will be replaced while new seats will be added to the east and west wings of the stand (A4 and A5). To prepare for the 2026 Vietnam National Games, grandstand B will be completely renovated, which will add 4,500 seats and bring the total capacity of the stadium to 19,000. The renovation is expected to cost 149 billion VND (US$6.1 million).


Usage

The stadium has hosted various domestic and international sporting and entertainment events throughout its history. Some of the most events are listed below


Football

*
1964 AFC Youth Championship The 1964 AFC Youth Championship was held in Saigon, South Vietnam. Teams The following teams entered the tournament: * * * * * * * * (host) Group stage Group A Results: Group B Results: Third place match Final Ex ...
*
1998 AFF Championship The 1998 AFF Championship, officially known as the 1998 Tiger Cup, was the second edition of the AFF Championship. It was held in Vietnam from 26 August to 5 September 1998. Thailand had been the defending champions, but lost to Vietnam in the ...
* 2003 Southeast Asian Games (men's football) *
2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup was played in Vietnam from 28 May to 8 June 2008. It was won by North Korea. Qualification Seedings The draw was held on 18 April 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. * 1. * 2. * 3. * 4. * 5. * 6. * 7. * 8 ...
* 2010 AFF U-19 Youth Championship * 2011 AFC U-19 Women's Championship * 2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship * 2012 AFF Women's Championship *
2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup, the 18th edition of the competition, was a women's association football tournament competed by national teams in Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It served as the qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup ...
* 2015 AFF Women's Championship


Athletics

* 2016 Asian Junior Athletics Championships


Concerts

* The Wild Dreams Tour (
Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...
)


International football matches


External links


StadiumDB images


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thong Nhat Stadium Football venues in Vietnam Sports venues in Ho Chi Minh City Multi-purpose stadiums in Vietnam