Stadium of the Year 2022: Discover Al-Zawraa Stadium

25.02.2023 23:15 source: StadiumDB.com; author: Mateusz Osmola

Our Stadium of the Year competition has officially begun and will run until March 15. As many as 36 venues are on the list of nominees this year. One of them is Al-Zawraa Stadium located in Baghdad, Iraq. Take a look at this candidacy and decide whether you want to vote for it in the contest for Stadium of the Year 2022!

Al-Zawraa Stadium nominated for Stadium of the Year 2022!

Football fans in Iraq last year were able to celebrate inauguration of a new state-of-the-art venue. The ultra-modern Al-Zawraa Stadium made it to the list of 36 football arenas nominated for the prestigious Stadium of the Year 2022 award. The competition is the largest public vote of its kind in the world. Since the first edition began, a total of more than 400,000 valid votes have been counted.

This year’s contest is highly varied, with stadiums from as many as six different continents taking part: 18 venues are from Asia, 8 from Europe, 4 from Africa, 3 from North America, 2 from South America and 1 from Australia and Oceania. The competition is fierce, so don't hesitate to cast a vote for the stadium you appreciate the most! If you’re still unsure, you can watch a video covering all 36 nominated stadiums:

Get to know Al-Zawraa Stadium

The old stadium of Al-Zawraa SC, the most successful team in Iraq, had existed since 1978, and was further expanded in 2002. In 2012, however, the facility was completely demolished in order to build a brand new, more modern stadium in its place. The investment was led and financed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The ground-breaking ceremony took place on January 26, 2012.

Work progressed much more slowly than planned, also influenced by the war against the Islamic State and the economic downturn. In 2019, the first seats and green turf arrived at the stadium. In the end, the facility was not ready for its inauguration until early 2022, after 10 years of construction. The opening of the new arena took place on February 15, 2022, on the occasion of an Iraqi league match between Al-Zawraa SC and Al-Diwaniya SC (2:0). Here are some interesting facts about the arena:

The cost of the investment was 60 billion Iraqi dinars ($ 41 million)
Initially, the new venue was planned to hold around 12,000 spectators, but during the works it was decided to increase this number to more than 15,000.
The facility is located near the centre of Baghdad, close to the banks of the Tigris River.
The stadium has a typical football rectangular layout, with four covered stands behind each of the sidelines and end lines of the pitch.
The stands are equipped with plastic seats in black and white, which, mixed together, form a mosaic.

How to vote for the Stadium of the Year 2022?

In order to take part, everyone has to select five stadiums by giving 5 stars to the best one, 4 stars to the second best, 3 stars to the third, 2 stars for the fourth and finally 1 star for the fifth most interesting. It means that you cannot cast your vote for only one stadium - all 5 venues must be included in your form. To vote visit Stadium of the Year 2022, the voting platform which will be open until March 15. To learn more about the nominated stadiums and the voting rules themselves, it is recommended to watch the video: