Borg El Arab

The Egyptian Army Stadium or Borg El Arab Stadium is a stadium commissioned in 2006 in the Mediterranean Sea resort of Borg el Arab; 50 km west of Alexandria, Egypt. It is the largest stadium in Egypt and the third largest in Africa (the first being Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers and the second being Soccer City in Johannesburg) with a capacity of 86,000[2] and is an all-seater. It is also the 27th largest stadium in the world, and the 10th largest association football stadium in the world. It is located on the Cairo-Alexandria desert highway 10 km from Borg El Arab Airport and 15 km from Alexandria's city centre. A running track runs around the pitch, and the ground has four large floodlights. Only one stand is covered by a roof.

History 

The Stadium was originally commissioned as part of an ambitious 5 international-standard stadiums project for Egypt's bid to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[3] It is also expected to be one of the venues for the Egyptian National Football Team along with the Cairo International Stadium, and the Mubarak Stadium at the city of Giza; 25 km south of Cairo. There is much speculation on whether any of the local (northern Egypt) football clubs will play their home matches in the stadium as they already fail to reach the 20,000+ mark in any of their current games. It is thought that the final matches of the Egyptian Cup might be held there every year.
The Stadium is unique in that it was designed and built completely by the Egyptian Armed Forces Corps of Engineers (EAFCE). It is thought that the EAFCE might be willing to participate in the construction of future stadiums.