National Stadium (East Timor)


National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Dili, East Timor. It is used mostly for association football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 5,000.

History

In 2002 The Dili stadium hosted Kylie Minogue and John Farnham as a reward for the Australians Service in assisting towards independence. Until recently the stadium has been neglected in Dili and in 2006 housed thousands of East Timorese fleeing violence on the streets. In 2011, the stadium was renovated, including changes to the pitch as well as the seating.
Dili Stadium is today home to the finals of the Taca Digicel and Super Liga Timorense. In 2005 world-renowned soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo visited Dili stadium and even has a picture with the President, Xanana Gusmão.
A tournament held between East Timorese national teams, a UN Police team and Australian and New Zealand combined teams was held in May 2007.
On 12 March 2015 the stadium hosted the first international home match of Timor-Leste national football team in the first round 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification against Mongolia with Timor winning 4–1.

Facilities

The stadium has a capacity of 5,000 people. It was renovated in 2011 and 2016. The 2016 renovation is worth 1.64 million dollars. The project included the renovation of the grandstand, roof renovation, construction of bathrooms, electricity rooms, lighting poles, and adding seats to the grandstand. The stadium has an athletics track. There are two grandstands on the Eastern and Western sides of the field. The main grandstand has a roof.

Major Football Matches