• Source: Adrar Stadium

      • Adrar Stadium (Arabic: ملعب آدرار; Berber languages: ⴰⴱⴰⵔⴰⵣ ⵏ ⵓⴷⵔⴰⵔ (Adrar means mountain in Tamazight); French: Grand Stade d'Agadir), is a multi-use stadium in Agadir, in the Souss-Massa region in the country of Morocco, near the Atlas Mountains, in North Africa, and is used as a home venue by the local football team, Hassania Agadir. It is also sometimes used for the Moroccan national team and for other FIFA and CAF international football matches as a neutral venue.
      The construction project began on paper in 2003, with the idea of building the stadium for Morocco's failed 2006 FIFA World Cup bid. In 2007, the project resumed, but it was only completed in time for its inauguration in 2013, the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup that year. It has also hosted the 2018 African Nations Cup.
      The Adrar Stadium, with a capacity of 45,480, is mostly used for club football matches in the Botola Pro League, but it is also a host for occasional football matches for the Moroccan national team, a neutral venue for CAF friendlies and tournament qualifiers, and a music concert venue. As of 2024, renovations are under way to increase its capacity ahead of international football tournaments to be hosted by Morocco in 2025 and 2030.


      History


      The stadium's first plan was to be a host venue as a part of Morocco's bid for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which was instead awarded to Germany. Then, the project was put on hold and resumed in 2007 for Morocco's failed bid for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, when in 2010, South Africa was awarded the tournament as the host, and plans for the stadium were paused. The project was resumed in 2009 and finally completed on 11 October 2013. The inaugural match featured tenants Hassania Agadir—moving from the Stade Al Inbiaâte—in a friendly match against the Algerian side JS Kabylie. Hassania's Saad Lemti scored the first goal in the stadium in the 76th minute, the lone goal of the match. The Adrar stadium replaced their old venue, Stade Al Inbiaâte, as the home stadium of the local football club, Hassania Agadir.


      = Stadium details

      =
      The stadium's facade is covered in stone steps and evokes a stepped pyramid, and inside is the football field, surrounded by an athletics track. The original budget by 2013 was 860 million Moroccan Dirhams (MAD) ($103 million in USD) for the cost of construction, however, the final price of upgrading the stadium is higher at 1.008 bn MAD. The architects for the project were the firm Gregotti Associati International from Italy collaborating with the Moroccan architect Sâd Benkiran. On the site is a conference center, exhibition center, snack bar, and shops and restaurants. The stadium completed in 2013.


      = Expansion plans

      =
      A two-phase expansion project, as part of a national investment in sporting infrastructure, was announced in 2024. The first phase, to be completed for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Morocco, will expand capacity by 14,144. The second phase, to begin after the Africa Cup of Nations and conclude in 2028, will increase football capacity to approximately 70,000 in time for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host.


      Club matches



      The Adrar stadium plays host to the Moroccan football club Hassania Agadir (French: Hassania Union Sport D'Agadir), who play locally in the city of Agadir. As of 2024, they are in the highest league in Morocco, the Botola Pro. The team saw some success in 2019, playing in the 2019 Moroccan Throne Cup final, but losing to Tihad AS of Casablanca. Hassania also qualified for the African continent in the CAF Confederation Cup, with games played in Adrar stadium. During the 2018-19 season, Hassania won games to qualify for the 2018–19 CAF Confederation Cup knockout stage, where they lost to the Egyptian team Zamalek SC in the quarter finals and were eliminated from the knockout stages of the Cup.


      = Covid-19 pandemic

      =
      Hassania Agadir qualified for the 2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup, where they progressed into the knockout stages again. However, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation made the decision to play the quarter final home match against Al-Nasr of Libya in Agadir behind closed doors, without any fans in attendance due to the restrictions imposed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hassania won the game, but then lost in the semi-final to fellow Moroccan team RS Berkane. The match had been delayed for five months because of the competition's postponement due to the pandemic.


      International matches



      Since its opening in 2013, the Adrar stadium in Agadir has played host to numerous football matches for clubs and countries from around the world, including FIFA (Club World Cup) and CAF (African Nations Championship) tournament games. It will host more tournaments in the future. As well as Moroccan friendlies, qualification matches, and tournaments, Adrar stadium has also hosted other African nations, serving as a neutral venue for friendlies, and has had various African (CAF) teams play against each other in qualification matches for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification and 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF). Though the Moroccan government decided to cancel hosting the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations due to fears of the Ebola outbreak, the Adrar stadium would have been used for the tournament. Instead, Equatorial Guinea was chosen as a replacement country to host the 2015 edition of AFCON.
      Former Moroccan men's national team manager Ezzaki Badou has praised the stadium and its fans from the Sous area, also citing the moderate climate of Agadir as favorable for the players.


      = Moroccan men's matches

      =
      Football matches played involving the Moroccan men's national team in Adrar stadium since its opening in 2013:


      = CAF

      =

      The Confederation of African Football (CAF) hosts matches in Agadir's Adrar stadium. The most recent tournament in Agadir was the 2018 African Nations Championship, a competition for men's football in Africa. The country is hosting the African Football Cup of Nations in 2025 for the first time in over 36 years since the 1988 African Cup of Nations. The Adrar stadium will again be a venue for some of the matches involving the 24 African teams, serving as one of the neutral venues in Morocco. Morocco also hosted the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations; however, the Adrar stadium was not used for the competition. Instead Rabat and Casablanca were chosen as host cities.


      2018 African Nations Cup



      Results of the football matches played in Agadir for the 2018 African Nations Cup men's tournament:


      = FIFA

      =

      The Adrar stadium has played host to numerous FIFA international football games on club and country levels. The FIFA Club World Cup tournament has been held in the city, and there is an open bid for Agadir to again become a host venue for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. The venue will also be a destination for co-hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2030, with Morocco becoming the second country in Africa to host the tournament after South Africa.


      2013 FIFA Club World Cup



      Morocco was the destination for the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup as a replacement to the tournament being held in Japan for the then yearly continental competition. The reason for the change in the host country was because of the Japanese 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which affected the country's infrastructure. The Moroccan bid was chosen as the first Club World Cup in Africa for 2013, with Agadir playing host to 4 games in the tournament. Then, in the following year, Morocco once again hosted the 2014 edition of the CWC, although Adrar was not chosen as a venue for any matches for the tournament's second edition in Morocco. For a third time, Morocco was chosen as the host country for the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup. However, Agadir was not chosen as a tournament venue; instead Rabat and Tangier were chosen for the matches of the tournament. The hosting of the tournaments in Morocco gave an incentive in 2022 for the government to expand its high-speed railway, Al Boraq, to finally connect Agadir to other cities.


      2030 FIFA World Cup



      In attempting to host the FIFA World Cup, Morocco had submitted the failed Morocco 2026 FIFA World Cup bid, with the Adrar stadium being instrumental in the application. However, USA-Canada-Mexico were instead chosen as co-hosts. Then, the Morocco–Portugal–Spain 2030 FIFA World Cup bid was chosen for the following World Cup four years later, with the Adrar stadium being scheduled to be used as part of Morocco's triple joint bid, along with Spain and Portugal. The bid was for the centenary anniversary of the FIFA World Cup. For 2030, FIFA decided on a new format to celebrate the "beautiful game", which sees three continents (Africa, Europe and South America) uniting to host the football (soccer) tournament. Therefore, as well as the triple bid around the Iberian Peninsula, the South American countries of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay had also bid to host the cup, and were selected to host the opening group stage games of the 2030 World Cup, whilst the rest of the group stages and knockout stages of the tournament is being held in and around the Iberian peninsula of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The decision to host three games outside of the triple bid involving Morocco was made in recognition of FIFA's inauguration for the first FIFA World Cup during 1930 in Uruguay, Latin America.


      References

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