80. Mercedes-Benz Stadium
📍 Atlanta, United States
🏠 2017
🏟 42,500
Pep Guardiola would like this one. The Mercedes-Benz arena is made of individual triangle panels: it's as visually stunning as tiki-taka in full flow but you just wait to see it expand or contract to open or close the roof. It's a simply astounding feat of engineering – seriously, watch.
Despite being best associated with the NFL – it hosted a particularly dull Super Bowl which not only turned out to be the lowest-scoring, it had Maroon 5 play at half-time – the Benz is is a proper football ground, too. It's set to host games at the 2026 World Cup – and Atlanta United share it with the Falcons. The first English teams to play there, though? Brighton and Brentford this July in the Premier League Summer Series. – MW
79. Deutsche Bank Park
📍 Frankfurt, Germany
🏠 1925
🏟 51,500
Eintracht Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park has been spruced up no fewer than four times since its grand opening 90 years ago, most recently in 2005 for hosting five matches at Germany’s World Cup the following year. The stadium was practically rebuilt from the ground upwards for the '74 World Cup, meanwhile. These days it’s a plush cauldron housing Frankfurt’s passionate fans who still show up in their throngs. - JB
78. Gelora Bung Karno Stadium
📍 Jakarta, Indonesia
🏠 1962
🏟 77,193
The biggest and most memorable stadium in a country of a quarter-billion people, the GBK has hosted a variety of events over the years, including political rallies, concerts and even some football matches. Arsenal, Juventus, Liverpool and AC Milan are among the teams to have graced the stadium, which is at its best when locals belt out the Indonesian anthem to serenade the national team. – TU
77. Arena Nationala
📍 Bucharest, Romania
🏠 2011
🏟 55,634
Fans in this part of the world need little encouragement to inflict an intimidating atmosphere on the opposition, and extra edge is added by the steep structure of Romania’s national stadium.
Although clearly benefiting from the lack of a running track, it is smaller than its predecessor which closed in 2007 having once staged matches in front of six-figure crowds. The only criticism would be that the speckled seating layout means it’s hard to tell if anyone’s actually there. – JF
76. Estadio Centenario
📍 Montevideo, Uruguay
🏠 1930
🏟 60,235
The apparent lack of cash in South American football means lots of the stadiums remain close to their original look, and the Centenario is no different. With a capacity of 100,000, it was named to mark the 100th anniversary of Uruguay's independence; to build it for the first World Cup in 1930, workers had to put in three shifts, 24 hours a day to get it ready in time. It wasn’t.
Ten of the 18 matches were subsequently staged at the country’s biggest stadium as Uruguay lifted the trophy and then FIFA President Jules Rimet declared it the “temple of football”. It’s still a big draw: nearly a century on, domestic teams rent the stadium to play the big matches. A huge concrete bowl, it is instantly recognisable for the 100m tower rising from the Tribuna Olimpica. Erected to celebrate independence, the ‘Torre de los Homenajes’ has nine windows representing the nonet of stripes in the Uruguayan flag. - JF
75. Kopetdag Stadium
📍 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
🏠 1997
🏟 26,503
Walk into the venue and the first thing you see is a giant mural of former president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow staring down at you – but it’s not just any old mural. The President is waving at the crowd atop a bicycle, wearing white pants, a Lacoste shirt and the grin of a man who could do pretty much whatever he wants. The mural may be the stadium’s best asset, but it does regularly host top-flight club and international matches where the stands are full of those who may or may not have chosen to be there, creating one of the more colourful atmospheres in world football. – SM
74. Victoria Stadium
📍 Gibraltar
🏠 1926
🏟 5,000
Views of the famous Rock of Gibraltar are beautiful from the Victoria Stadium. But with redevelopment set for this year, the national side are set to play games in Faro, Portugal.
Gibraltar aren't the only side that will have to relocate, though. Think it's hard to share your ground with your closest rivals? Try the Gibraltar National League, where every team in the league plays at the Victoria Stadium. All 11 of them. That's one busy groundsman. – MW
73. Borg El Arab Stadium
📍 Alexandria, Egypt
🏠 2009
🏟 86,000
Africa's second-biggest stadium is in fact situated 50km west of Alexandria, in the resort town whose name it shares. Originally planned as the showpiece of an Egyptian bid for the 2010 World Cup that fell flat, the ground – built by the Egyptian Armed Forces Engineer Branch – settled for hosting the opening match of the 2009 Under-20 World Cup and has since been a regular venue for the senior national team and big domestic occasions. – NA
72. El Cilindro
📍 Buenos Aires, Argentina
🏠 1950
🏟 61,000
For decades, the Estadio Presidente Peron – more commonly known as El Cilindro – offered Racing fans the unique experience of walking all around the pitch, from behind one goalmouth to the other, so they could follow the team’s attack on both halves. And Racing were worth following, as they beat Celtic and became the first South American world champions.
The amazing Racing fans, who consider themselves “an inexplicable passion” make this stadium one of the best places to watch football, with a great atmosphere and even the occasional ghost – reptuedly 1920s player Natalio Perinetti. – MM
71. Parken Stadium
📍 Copenhagen, Denmark
🏠 1992
🏟 38,065
Football has been played on the site of the Telia Parken since 1911; the Danish national team’s Idrætsparken ground was here until it was replaced by the modern stadium in 1992. Although inspired by Italia 90 stadiums, architect Gert Andersson wisely decided to place a greater emphasis on keeping supporters close to the action, the distance between the final row of seats and pitchside being a mere 32 metres – barely outside “Beckham territory”. – LR
