Bayern Munich were heavy favourites when they were drawn with Spanish club Villarreal during the quarterfinal draw in the Champions League, but this counted for little when the two teams met in the first leg at the El Madrigal on Wednesday night.

Villarreal took the game to German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich at home and they were rewarded when Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma found the back of the net with eight minutes gone. Villarreal won the Europa League last season and they showed that they were no pushovers when they played hosts to the Bavarian giants. Frenchman Francis Coquelin thought he had doubled the lead when his cross found its way past Manuel Neuer in the Bayern Munich goal, but he made the cross from an offside position. (more…)

Premier League champions Manchester City are the favourites to win the Champions League this season, while German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are the second favourites and both teams have already sealed their place in the quarterfinals in emphatic style.

Manchester City thrashed hosts and Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon 5-0 in the first leg of their last 16 tie before they played out a goalless draw in England as the Citizens progressed to the last eight via a 5-0 aggregate win. (more…)

2006 World Cup hosts Germany had a lot of stadiums who met the criteria to host games as stipulated by world’s football governing body, FIFA. In the end, 12 stadiums were selected to host matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cuptournament on German soil.

From all the 12 World Cup Stadiums, the Olympic Stadium in Berlin had the most capacity at 72,000 followed by the Allianz Arena with a capacity of 66,000. The Signa Iduna Park in Dortmund is the third biggest amongst the World Cup stadiums for the 2006 edition in Germany with a capacity of 65,000. The Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion in Stuttgart and the Gelsenkirchen Arena in Schalke 04 are joint fourth amongst the 2006 World Cup stadiums at the capacity of 52,000. The AOL Arena in Hamburg is next with the capacity of 50,000. (more…)

After years of waiting and preparations, the World Cup year has finally come and even though preparations are still ongoing, they are expected to be done soon. Football fans across the world are all excited and pumped about watching the World Cup later this year. Football players are also looking forward to the tournament, and so are coaches and pundits as well. There are a couple of stadiums that have been selected for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 games and we want to take a look at them.

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Al Thumama Stadium

Located 12km south of Doha, Al Thumama stadium’s design weaves Arab culture through its facade, drawing inspiration from the woven patterns of a Gahfiya, the traditional head piece worn by Muslim men in the Arabian region.
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There were twelve (12) World Cup stadiums for the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournamentin Brazil. Seven of the 12 World Cup Stadiums were built ahead of the tournament, while the other five World Cup Stadiums were renovated in time for the tournament.

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The Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro had the most capacity out of all the 12 World Cup Stadiums for the tournament in Brazil. The match venue has a capacity of 74, 738. EstadioNacional ManeGarrincha had the second most capacity outside the Maracana with a capacity of 69, 432 and it was a new stadium unlike the Maracana that was renovated before the tournament started in the summer of 2014.
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The Lusail Iconic Stadium, also known as the Lusail National Stadium, is one of the eight World Cup Stadiums for the Qatar 2022 tournament and it has a capacity of 80,000. Of all the eight World Cup Stadiums for the tournament on Qatari soil at the end of next year, Lusail Iconic Stadium has the biggest capacity. It has at least 20,000 more in capacity than any of the other World Cup Stadiums as far as the Qatar 2022 tournament is concerned.

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It has already been decided that Qatar 2022 matches in Group C, D, G and H would be allocated to Lusail Iconic Stadium and the trio of Education City Stadium, 974 Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.
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Hosts Russia initially proposed 13 cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament and they were Moscow, Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Saransk, Sochi, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Yaroslav and Samara. In addition to the 13 host cities, 16 World Cup Stadiums were also part of the Russian bid. The number of World Cup Stadiums would later decrease from 16 to 14 as confirmed by the local organising committee in October 2011.

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The final choice of host cities was announced on September 29, 2012 as eleven (11) were confirmed after the exclusion of Krasnodar and Yaroslavl. The World Cup Stadiums were reduced to 12 due to the removal of Yaroslavl and Krasnodar as host cities.
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The FIFA World Cup is set to start next year and being the most prestigious tournament in world football, it has left football fans across the world excited even though it’s still a few months before the first match kicks off. The tournament will be hosted by Qatar and it will be the first time a country in the Middle East will be hosting a World Cup tournament. The country won the right to host the tournament back in 2010 and they are set to be host to football’s biggest and best football stars when the event starts next year.

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There have been a lot of preparations going on in the country regarding the stadiums that will be used for the tournament and while some are still undergoing construction with some finishing touches needed, some other stadiums have already been completed and ready to host some football action.
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A fifth match venue has been inaugurated as the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar draws closer. The tournament is billed to take place between November and December of next year.

The Al Thumamastadium was launched at an event on Friday and it is one of eight World Cup stadiums for the Qatar 2022 World Cup tournament. As at the last count, five World Cup stadiums have been inaugurated and there are still three more World Cup stadiums to go. (more…)

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Eight World Cup Stadiums have been approved by world football’s governing body, FIFA, ahead of next year’s World Cup tournament in Qatar. The approved World Cup Stadiums are in five cities as far as the Asian nation of Qatar is concerned.

 

The Lusail Iconic Stadium has the largest capacity from all the eight World Cup Stadiums and it is based in the city of Lusail. The Lusail Iconic Stadium has a capacity of 80,000 and it is still under construction. The second best in terms of capacity is the Al Bayt Stadium in the city of Al Khor and it has a capacity of 60,000. Unlike what’s obtainable with the Lusail Iconic Stadium, the Al Bayt Stadium is not under construction as it has been made ready for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament which starts in November 2022. (more…)