Ambedkar Stadium
Encyclopedia
Ambedkar Stadium is a stadium in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The stadium is named in honour of B. R. Ambedkar
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, a revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of independent India. He was also the Chairman...

, the famous dalit leader and chairman of the Indian constituent assembly. It opened in 2007 and has a listed capacity of 20,000. It is currently used for football matches. The stadium has hosted international football finals such as the 2007 Nehru Cup Final and the 2009 Nehru Cup Final
2009 Nehru Cup
The 2009 Nehru Cup International Football Tournament also known as the ONGC Nehru Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by ONGC, was the 14th edition of the Nehru Cup a friendly tournament organized by the All India Football Federation ....

.

Name

The stadium is named in honour of B. R. Ambedkar
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, a revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of independent India. He was also the Chairman...

, the famous dalit leader and chairman of the Indian constituent assembly.

Renovation

In 2007, the stadium was renovated and floodlights were installed. In August 2007 the stadium hosted its first tournament under floodlights, the Nehru Cup International Football Tournament 2007
Nehru Cup International Football Tournament 2007
The 2007 Nehru Cup International Football Tournament also known as the ONGC Nehru Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by ONGC, was the 13th edition of the Nehru Cup a tournament organized by the All India Football Federation since 1982...

.

Controversy

At the start of the 2010-11 I-League season Indian Arrows was expected to play its I-League
I-League
The I-League is an Indian football league for association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation of two teams each year with the I-League 2nd Division...

 matches at the stadium but due to the stadium owners, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), holding non-sporting events like parties and weddings on the pitch the pitch looked a mess every single day which forced Indian Arrows to play their matches at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium
Tau Devi Lal Stadium
Tau Devi Lal Stadium is a multi-purpose sports complex located in Gurgaon within the state of Haryana, India. The site currently consists of two sports venues in addition to several practice facilities: the Tau Devi Lal Cricket Ground and the Tau Devi Lal Football Stadium.It is the home ground of...

 in Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...

.

Pitch

The Ambedkar Stadium is one of the two stadiums to have FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 approved pitches for FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 qualification matches in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The other being the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is a Chennai stadium and seats 40,000. It hosts football , and athletic competitions. The complex also houses a multi purpose indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 8000 which hosts volleyball, basket ball, table tennis etc. The stadium is named after Jawaharlal...

 in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

.

Major Matches

The stadium has hosted many football matches in tournaments as well like the Nehru Cup. In 2007 the stadium hosted the 2007 Nehru Cup Final between India and Syria
Syria national football team
The Syria national football team represents Syria in association football and is controlled by the Syrian Football Association, the governing body for football in Syria. Syria's home grounds are Abbasiyyin Stadium and Aleppo International Stadium...

. Then it hosted the 2009 Nehru Cup Final
2009 Nehru Cup
The 2009 Nehru Cup International Football Tournament also known as the ONGC Nehru Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by ONGC, was the 14th edition of the Nehru Cup a friendly tournament organized by the All India Football Federation ....

 between again India and Syria.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK