With a capacity of 31,200 it is the largest Stadium in the country, until the completion of the Baku Olympic Stadium in 2015.

Construction of the Stadium first began in 1939 however work was halted with the break out of World War Two.

With a capacity of 31,200 it is the largest Stadium in the country, until the completion of the Baku Olympic Stadium in 2015. ©Baku2015



The Stadium was finally finished in 1951, with the help of a number of German prisoners of war, and shaped as 'C' in recognition of Joseph Stalin - C = S in the Cyrillic alphabet - with the Stadium initially named after the former Russian leader.

Due to the denunciation of Stalin in 1956, the Stadium was renamed the Vladimir Lenin Stadium from 1956-1993.

The latest name change in 1993 came after the death of famous Azerbaijani official Tofiq Bahramov, better known as "the Russian linesman" in England, who's career is most noted for his decision to award England a controversial goal in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany.

With the score level at 2-2 after 11 minutes of extra-time, Geoff Hurst fired a shot at goal which crashed off the underside of the crossbar and bounced sharply downwards.

The England players wheeled round in celebration, the crowd went wild, the German players shouted their defiance, Swedish referee Gottfried Dienst stood in uncertainty but Bahramov, in a moment remembered by all football fans across the globe, nodded his head fiercely to the referee to indicate that a goal had been scored and the ball had crossed the goal-line.

Baharamov, along with the referee and other linesman, received a golden whistle for his duties in the 1966 World Cup by Queen Elizabeth II.

When England were drawn in the same group as Azerbaijan in qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a ceremony was held prior to the meeting at the Stadium to honour his memory, with attendees including Geoff Hurst, Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter.

A statue of him blowing a whistle in a referee pose was also unveiled at the ceremony.

In 2011 the Stadium began a large reconstruction and renovation project as it readied itself for the 2012 FIFA under 17 Women's World Cup, and was named amongst a list of potential Eurovision Song Contest venues for the same year.

The Stadium was officially reopened by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on August 16, 2012 and saw an increase of 1,330 seats, expanded it from its original 29,870 seats to its current 31,200.

The renovation work was carried out by Korean company Samhwa Telecom.

A number of other changes came with the reconstruction project including turnstiles at the entrance, 16 ten-seat family rooms, a new stand featuring a 500-seat media suite, a 205-seat VIP restaurant, new locker rooms, improvements to the pitch, a drainage system, underflow heating, modern lighting and an extension of the roof.

During the Baku 2015 European Games the Stadium will host all five archery events, the men’s and women’s individual and team events as well as the mixed team event. 
©Getty Images



During the under 17 Women's World Cup the Stadium was one of six venues across Azerbaijan, five in Baku and one in Lankaran, playing host to two Group A matches, the semi-final and the final.

During the Baku 2015 European Games the Stadium will host all five archery events, the men's and women's individual and team events as well as the mixed team event.

Competition is scheduled from June 17 to 22 at the Stadium with 128 participants expected to take part in the events.

The Stadium will sit within the City Cluster for the Games alongside the Baku Sports Hall and Heydar Aliyev Arena.

It is located just minutes from the Ganjlik Metro Station with travel time to the Athletes' Village expected to take between 10 and 20 minutes. More Baku 2015 venues