The Grand Stade de Tanger is a football and track stadium located in the city of Tangier, Northern Morocco. It is home to football team Ittihad Tanger.
Grand Stade de Tanger Stadium Capacity
With a capacity of holding 45,000 people with dedicated seats for media and VIP, Stade de Tanger is also known as Stade Ibn Batouta in the memory of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim explorer.
History
The construction for the stadium began in 2002 and took nine years to complete. The stadium still has support structures for future developments which gives the stadium a raw and unfinished feel. The stadium after its construction became the largest building and stadium in the city of Tanger.
The first match was played on 26 April 2011 between Atletico Madrid B and IR Tanger which resulted in a 1-1 draw. It was followed by a match between Raja Casablanca and Atletico Madrid which ended 1-3 in the Spanish team’s favor.
Before the Stade de Tanger, IR Tanger used to play at the Stade de Marchan. The 14,000-capacity stadium was used extensively for football before it was replaced by Stade de Tanger.
Major Matches
The Champions Trophy match between LOSC Lille and Olympique de Marseille was played here on 27th July 2011. It was a breathtaking match, with Marseille winning 5-4. Lille were leading 3-1 till 85th minute, but during the last 10 minutes, OM managed to pull off an incredible win with four last minute goals.
The French Super Cup final was played at the Stade de Tanger between AS Monaco and PSG on 29th July 2017. Monaco managed to get an early lead but PSG scored two goals in the second half to win the cup 2-1.
The team Ittihad Riadi Tanger play their home matches here in the Botola League and the stadium was also selected to be the venue for the 2015 African Cup of Nations.
Recent Matches
IR Tanger won their home game against Difaâ El Jadida in the Botola Pro League with a margin of 1 goal on 23rd December 2017.
On 31st December 2017, IR Tanger played Chabab Rif Hoceima and had a comfortable 3-0 win.
