The Estadi Nacional is a stadium located in Andorra la Vella. It is the national stadium of Andorra, and is used for association football and rugby union.

Estadi Nacional
Map
Full nameEstadi Nacional d'Andorra
LocationAndorra la Vella, Andorra
Capacity3,306
Record attendance3,631
FC Andorra v Albacete Balompié
(8 May 2022)[1]
SurfaceArtificial turf
Construction
Broke ground2013
Opened2014
Tenants
Andorra national football team
Andorra national rugby union team
FC Andorra (2021–present)

It has a capacity of 3,306, and the pitch is made of artificial turf.[2]

History

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The stadium was built at the former ground of the Camp d'Esports del M.I. Consell General. Construction started in 2013 and finished in 2014.[3]

The stadium is the home of the Andorra national football team and the Andorra national rugby union team. The first official match was a 1–2 defeat to Wales valid for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group B, played on 9 September 2014, after the 3G artificial pitch passed UEFA inspection a week before the match.[4]

In August 2015, the National Government and FC Andorra agreed that the club would play in the Estadi Nacional the two first months of the 2015–16 season, until the works in the Camp de la Borda Mateu finish.[5][6]

In July 2021, the Government of Andorra reached an agreement with FC Andorra for playing their matches of Primera División RFEF in this stadium.[7]

Television gantry fire

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On 8 October 2021, one day before Andorra were due to play England in a 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier, a fire broke out in the stadium's television gantry.[8] There was extensive damage to the metal gantry and the television equipment within, one of the pitchside VAR monitors was destroyed, some of the seating in one of the dugouts melted and part of the artificial turf was scorched.[9] Repairs were made in the following hours, so that the match was able to go ahead at the stadium, in spite of the fire.[10]

Attendances to official games

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As of 9 October 2021

Andorra men's national football team

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Season Total High Low Average
Euro 2016 11,778 3,150 1,054 2,354
2018 World Cup 10,484 3,193 1,115 2,097
2018–19 Nations League 3,567 1,311 1,021 1,189
Euro 2020 9,718 3,187 947 1,944
2022 World Cup[a] 4,308 2,285 285 1,077
2022–23 Nations League 2,790 1,102 756 930
Euro 2024 8,218 2,927 568 1,644
  1. ^ Two games with limited attendance due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Source[11][12]

Andorra women's national football team

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Season Total High Low Average
2023–24 Nations League 1,572 813 156 524

Rugby games

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Season Total High Low Average
2014–16 European Nations Cup 1,300 500 300 433
2016–17 Rugby Europe Conference 1,400 1,000 400 700
2017–18 Rugby Europe Conference 1,100 600 500 550
2018–19 Rugby Europe Conference 1,000 600 400 500

References

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  1. ^ "Avui som 3.631 espectadors al Estadi Nacional" Archived 2022-09-20 at the Wayback Machine; FC Andorra at Twitter
  2. ^ "La gespa de l'Estadi Nacional supera el test independent per obtenir la validació de la FIFA". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  3. ^ "Butlletí Oficial del Principat d'Andorra" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  4. ^ "Euro 2016: Wales qualifier in Andorra will not be moved". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  5. ^ "L'FC Andorra jugarà a l'Estadi Nacional els dos primers mesos" (in Catalan). Bon Dia. 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 August 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Acord entre el Govern i l'FC Andorra per jugar a l'Estadi Nacional" (in Catalan). Andorra Difusió. 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  7. ^ "L' Andorra jugarà al Nacional" (in Catalan). Diari d'Andorra. 8 July 2021. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  8. ^ "England World Cup qualifier build-up marred by fire at Andorra's Estadi Nacional". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  9. ^ Cunningham, Sam (8 October 2021). "Andorra stadium fire: England's World Cup qualifier to go ahead despite major blaze on eve of game". iNews. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  10. ^ "England cruise to victory over Andorra". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  11. ^ "Soccerway". Archived from the original on 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  12. ^ "Worldfootball.net". Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
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42°30′17″N 1°31′03″E / 42.5046°N 1.5175°E / 42.5046; 1.5175