Estadio Algarve

The Estadio Algarve (Algarve Stadium), also known as Estadio Faro/Loule (Faro/Loule Stadium), is an association football stadium located between Faro and Loule municipalities, in the Algarve region of Portugal. The stadium has a capacity of 30,305 and was proposedly built for the UEFA Euro 2004 championship.

History

The Estadio Algarve was designed in the summer of 2000 in accordance with UEFA and FIFA standards by Populous for the UEFA Euro 2004 championship hosted in Portugal. The design team included WS Atkins engineers and local partners including Marobal. The design is regional in nature, alluding to the maritime traditions of Portugal and harmonizing with the distinctive local landscape of the region of Algarve. The stadium is considered a model small/regional flexible use stadium for football and other sports and cultural events, being one of the most used stadiums in Portugal, compared to others used only for matches in the main Portuguese Football League. From 2004 to 2013, Louletano shared the stadium with Sporting Clube Farense. Since 2004, the Estadio Algarve has hosted several matches of the Portugal national football team. Aside from football, it has also hosted music festivals and concerts, and was temporarily converted into a super special stage during the 2007 Rally Portugal (part of the 2007 World Rally Championship season). A former home of Farense and Louletano shortly after its inauguration, the stadium also received some Olhanense and Portimonense matches during their respective stadiums' works of renovation since those teams are also from the region of Algarve. The Algarve Stadium also hosts the final match of the Algarve Cup, a major annual international tournament in women's football.

The stadium hosted the inaugural Algarve Challenge Cup tournament on 22 and 24 July 2008 that saw Cardiff City, Celtic, Middlesbrough, and Vitoria de Guimaraes in action. Cardiff City were the eventual winners of the tournament with victories over Celtic and Vitoria.

The Estadio

This page also has a version in other languages :  Алгарве Стадион (russian)