Estádio Algarve
Football stadium in Faro/Loulé, Portugal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Estádio Algarve (English: Algarve Stadium) is an association football stadium located between Faro and Loulé municipalities, in the Algarve region of Portugal. The stadium has a total capacity of 30,305 spectators and was purposely built for the UEFA Euro 2004 championship.[3] Since 2023, only 22,000 seats are made available for football matches due to security concerns.[4]
22,000 (league)
| |
 Interactive map of Estádio Algarve | |
| Location | Faro-Loulé, Algarve, Portugal |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°05′18″N 7°58′29″W |
| Owner | Faro Municipality and Loulé Municipality |
| Capacity | 30,305 22,000 (league) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | Philips |
| Record attendance | 29,021 (14 August 2013) Portugal 1–1 Netherlands |
| Field size | 105 x 68 m |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 23 November 2003 |
| Construction cost | €66.364 million[1] |
| Architect | Populous[2] (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event) |
| Tenants | |
| Farense (2004–2013) (2024–Selected Matches) Louletano (2004–) Gibraltar national football team (2013–2017, 2023–) (temporary) Portugal national football team (selected matches) Algarve United (disbanded) | |
History
The Estádio Algarve was designed in the summer of 2000 in accordance with UEFA and FIFA standards by Populous for the UEFA Euro 2004 championship hosted in Portugal. The design team included WS Atkins engineers and local partners including Marobal. The design is regional in nature, alluding to the maritime traditions of Portugal and harmonizing with the distinctive local landscape of the region of Algarve. The stadium is considered a model small/regional flexible use stadium for football and other sports and cultural events, being one of the most used stadiums in Portugal, compared to others used only for matches in the main Portuguese Football League.
From 2004 to 2013, Louletano shared the stadium with Sporting Clube Farense. Since 2004, the Estádio Algarve has hosted several matches of the Portugal national football team. A former home of Farense and Louletano shortly after its inauguration, the stadium also received some Olhanense and Portimonense matches during their respective stadiums' works of renovation since those teams are also from the region of Algarve. The Algarve Stadium also hosts the final match of the Algarve Cup, a major annual international tournament for women's football national teams, and the Algarve Football Cup, a pre-season friendly tournament for men's football clubs.
The stadium hosted the inaugural Algarve Challenge Cup tournament on 22 and 24 July 2008 that saw Cardiff City, Celtic, Middlesbrough, and Vitória de Guimarães in action. Cardiff City were the eventual winners of the tournament with victories over Celtic and Vitória.
The Estádio Algarve was also the temporary home ground of the Gibraltar national football team around the mid-2010s.[5] It will once again host Gibraltar from March 2023 while improvements are made to the Victoria Stadium.[6]
Aside from football, it has also hosted music festivals and concerts, and has been temporarily converted into a super special stage during the Rally de Portugal, including the 2007 Rally de Portugal (part of the 2007 World Rally Championship season) and the 2010 Rally de Portugal (the sixth round of the 2010 World Rally Championship season).[7]
Euro 2004 Matches
| Date | Result | Round | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 June 2004 |  Spain | 1–0 |  Russia | Group A | 28,182 |
| 20 June 2004 | Russia | 2–1 |  Greece |
24,347 | |
| 26 June 2004 |  Sweden | 0–0 (4–5 p) |  Netherlands | Quarter-finals | 27,762 |
Portugal national football team
The following national team matches were held at the stadium.[10]
| # | Date | Score | Opponent | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 18 February 2004 | 1–1 |  England | Friendly |
| 2. | 3 September 2005 | 6–0 |  Luxembourg | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 11 February 2009 | 1–0 |  Finland | Friendly |
| 4. | 10 August 2011 | 5–0 | Luxembourg | |
| 5. | 15 August 2012 | 2–0 |  Panama | |
| 6. | 14 August 2013 | 1–1 | Netherlands | Friendly |
| 7. | 14 November 2014 | 1–0 |  Armenia | Euro 2016 qualifying |
| 8. | 13 November 2016 | 4–1 |  Latvia | 2018 World Cup qualification |
| 9. | 6 September 2018 | 1–1 |  Croatia | Friendly |
| 10. | 14 November 2019 | 6–0 |  Lithuania | Euro 2020 qualifying |
| 11. | 1 September 2021 | 2–1 |  Republic of Ireland | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 12. | 9 October 2021 | 3–0 |  Qatar | Friendly |
| 13. | 12 October 2021 | 5–0 | Luxembourg | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 14. | 11 September 2023 | 9–0 | Luxembourg | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
Gibraltar national football team
.JPG)
The following national team matches were held at the stadium.[11]
| # | Date | Score | Opponent | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 19 November 2013 | 0–0 |  Slovakia | Friendly |
| 2. | 4 June 2014 | 1–0 |  Malta | Friendly |
| 3. | 7 September 2014 | 0–7 |  Poland | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification |
| 4. | 14 October 2014 | 0–3 |  Georgia | |
| 5. | 13 June 2015 | 0–7 |  Germany | |
| 6. | 4 September 2015 | 0–4 | Republic of Ireland | |
| 7. | 11 October 2015 | 0–6 |  Scotland | |
| 8. | 6 September 2016 | 1–4 | Greece | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 9. | 10 October 2016 | 0–6 |  Belgium | |
| 10. | 9 June 2017 | 1–2 |  Cyprus | |
| 11. | 3 September 2017 | 0–4 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| 12. | 7 October 2017 | 0–6 |  Estonia | |
| 13. | 24 March 2023 | 0–3 | Greece | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 14. | 16 June 2023 | 0–3 |  France | |
| 15. | 16 October 2023 | 0–4 | Republic of Ireland | |
| 16. | 21 November 2023 | 0–6 | Netherlands | |
| 17. | 21 March 2024 | 0–1 | Lithuania |
2022–23 UEFA Nations League relegation playoffs |
| 18. | 3 June 2024 | 0–2 | Scotland |
Friendly |
| 19. | 6 June 2024 | 0–0 |  Wales |
Friendly |
| 20. | 25 March 2025 | 0–4 |  Czech Republic |
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 21. | 6 June 2025 | 0–7 | Croatia |
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
