The relevance of a football stadium’s ambiance may often be overseen in the midst of games and its nerve-wracking battles that last the full ninety minutes. However, the atmosphere of the stadium plays a pivotal role in backing the home team or influencing the away team, putting extra pressure on with lively chants or enthusiastic songs.
The stadium atmosphere holds paramount significance in its sheer beauty, fascinating fanbase, geographical positioning, and certain amazing parameters. All such things complement world-class architecture, becoming the impressive centerpiece.
On our Asian continent, there are several stadiums that are filled with crazing fan support and eye-catching beauty. With that said, we have handpicked some highly ranked football stadiums based on their electric atmosphere.
Azadi (Tehran, Iran)
Azadi, Iran’s biggest stadium, comes with a capacity of around 80,000 seats. Playing in the shadow of the Alborz Mountains, this area produces a spectacular feeling as Javad Nekounam warned Park Ji-sung that he has never experienced anything like the Azadi atmosphere. The stadium is the home ground for Tehran clubs, Esteghlal and Persepolis, and the Iran national football team.
Rungrado 1st of May Stadium (Pyongyang, North Korea)
Rungrado 1st of May Stadium is the largest stadium in the world’s largest football stadium by seating capacity, with 150,000 seats. It boasts a unique design that features a scalloped roof resembling a magnolia blossom. This North Korean stadium hosted six group-stage matches for the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification in July 2017.
The Bird’s Nest (Beijing, China)
Beijing National Stadium, commonly known as the Bird’s Nest, comes with an architectural marvel, having a seating capacity of around 80,000. Having been built for the 2008 Summer Olympics, it has a dynamic presence on Beijing’s socio-economic map. Despite organizing Olympic games or football fixtures, its state-of-the-art turns itself into an icon of Beijing that attracts hordes of tourists.
Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Kolkata, India)
Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, better known as Saltlake Stadium, is the largest football stadium in India. This stadium is famous for the historic East Bengal FC-Mohun Bagan SG derby over the years. The Kolkata-based stadium hosted the 1989 Nehru Cup, the 1997 Federation Cup, the 2011 SAFF Championship, and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup over the past couple of years.
Jeju World Cup Stadium (Jeju, South Korea)
Built ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the Jeju Stadium is located on the beautiful island off the southern coast of Korea. With the Pacific Ocean glistening behind and Korea’s biggest mountain in front, this area comes with eternal beauty with a panoramic view. Serving as the home ground of Jeju United FC, matches of the 2017 AFC Champions League and FIFA World Cup took place in this stadium.
Bukit Jalil National Stadium (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
The Bukit Jalil National Stadium is the largest in Malaysia, with more than 80,000 seating capacity. It hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1998, the Southeast Asian Games, and numerous football matches over the years. The Malaysia national football team’s stadium is the largest in Southeast Asia, the fourth largest in Asia, and the fifteenth largest in the world.
Apart from these, Gelora Bung Karno (Jakarta, Indonesia), Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium (Kuwait), and Jamsil Olympic Stadium (Seoul, South Korea) are some notable mentions from Asia.
