#8 Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, Portugal
The Aveiro municipal stadium is the home ground of Portuguese second division side Sport Clube Beira-Mar and can accommodate 30,200 spectators.
Built in 2003 for the Euros to be held the next year, the Aveiro football stadium is unlike most of its counterparts. It has no beams interspersing the stadium with long, red steel pylons serving as the support for the curvilinear roof.
The colourful stadium has a Lego-like feel to it, with small pockets of varied hues bringing about a collective sense of fun and joy as intended by the stadium’s architect Tomás Taveira.
#7 Stadion Kantrida, Croatia
Another quarry turned into a football stadium!
The Kantrida football stadium is an exceptionally located scenic venue, with steep cliffs on one side as it is built into the mountain terrain. The opposite end overlooks the Adriatic Sea in Croatia.
The stadium is more than a century old and was opened in 1913. It has been refurbished multiple times before and is all set for a fresh round of renovation which is set to commence in 2018.
Croatian club HNK Rijeka play their home games at this splendid avenue since 1946. Prior to that, the Unione Sportiva Fiumana (1926-1945) and the HŠK Victoria (1912-1919) teams’ home games were played on these grounds.
The stadium can seat about 10,600 spectators and also includes a provision to allow around 2000 visitors to watch the games standing.
#6 Soccer City / First National Bank Stadium, South Africa
The First National Bank (also referred to as the FNB) football stadium is situated in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built as ‘Soccer City’ in 1989 and underwent significant refurbishment in 2009 prior to South Africa hosting the 2010 football World Cup.
The stadium’s look was modified to look like a calabash, an African pot, and the lighting was made to resemble a fire under the pot. It began being referred to as the FNB stadium due to naming rights.
With a capacity of 94,736 spectators, it is one of the largest football stadiums across the world and the biggest advantage is that there are no seats with restricted views in the stadium!
South Africa’s national football and rugby teams use the FNB as their home ground along with premier league club Kaizer Chiefs F.C. The stadium has been utilized for the 1999 All Africa games besides the 2010 World Cup.
#5 Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella, Andorra
An orange-pink-lavender multicolour hue in the sky symbolizing the sunset occurring in the backdrop of the Pyrenean mountains while the pitch is illuminated by floodlights is a stupendous sight to behold, and one certainly rare at any sport venues.
Andora la Vella is the capital of the Andorra principality and the Andorra la Vella football stadium, along with the Camp d’Esports d’Aixovall grounds, hosts the first and second divisions of football in the region.
The la Vella has a capacity of 1300 people and also a running track.
