Sheikh Zayed Stadium

Sheikh Zayed Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is currently used mostly for football matches but can also stage athletics. It is named after the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder and first president of the UAE. The construction of the stadium was completed in 1979 and it originally was designed to hold 60,000 people. However, after renovations to make the stadium comply with FIFA safety standards, its capacity diminished to 49,500 persons.

It has hosted many international and regional events such as GCC football tournament in 1982, 1994, and in 2007. It was also a venue for the Asian Federation Cup final in 1996 between the host UAE, and Saudi Arabia when the latter won the championship from the penalty spot. A major event held in this stadium was the opening and final match of the FIFA Youth World Cup in 2003. Every year, the UAE cup final is played here.