Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium


The Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is currently used mostly for football and cricket matches and is the home ground of Al Jazira Club. It is named after Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Capacity change

The stadium's original capacity was 15,000 but it is currently being expanded which will increase its capacity and make it into an ultra-modern air-conditioned sporting arena. The expansion project also includes two residential towers to be built on the stadium. Half of the project was completed by December 2006 and the stadium hosted the 18th Arabian Gulf Cup the next month. The UAE won the tournament in the stadium which held 24,000 spectators. The stadium was expanded again for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Trivia

Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium hosted seven games of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, including a Round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final match.
During the semifinal match between Qatar and the tournament host United Arab Emirates, the UAE supporters threw bottles and footwears into the pitch. This conduct was preceded by booing the Qatari national anthem. Qatar won 4–0 despite the situation, reaching their first Asian Cup final.
DateTimeTeam No. 1Res.Team No. 2RoundAttendance
7 January 201920:005–0Group D5,301
11 January 201917:300–3Group C16,013
15 January 201917:300–0Group B20,843
17 January 201917:303–1Group F8,338
20 January 201921:002–0Round of 1631,945
24 January 201920:000–3Quarter-finals19,578
29 January 201918:004–0Semi-finals38,646