Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium (1983)
| Location | Rabat, Morocco |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°57′34″N 6°53′19″W / 33.95944°N 6.88861°W |
| Owner | City of Rabat |
| Capacity | 50,000 |
| Record attendance | 80,000 |
| Field size | 105 m × 68 m |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1980 |
| Opened | 1983 |
| Renovated | 2000, 2014 |
| Closed | 2023 |
| Demolished | 2023 |
| Tenants | |
| AS FAR (1983–2023) Morocco national football team (1983–2023) | |
Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium (Arabic: ملعب الأمير مولاي عبد الله) was a football stadium in Rabat, Morocco. It was named after Prince Moulay Abdellah of Morocco, It was the home of AS FAR.
History
The stadium was constructed by a Chinese company when the ground was first broke in 1980 and was built over three years being completed in 1983. It was the home ground of AS FAR and used mostly for football matches. It also staged athletics. The stadium had a capacity of 50,000 people.[1][2]
From 2008 to 2023, it hosted the Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat. It was a confirmed venue for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations until Morocco was stripped of its hosting rights. Morocco asked for the Africa Cup of Nations to be postponed because of fear of the Ebola pandemic that was affecting several African countries at the time. The country was then ruled out as a host of the international competition.
The Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium was also a venue for the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup.
It was also used as the opening and closing ceremony venue for the 2019 African Games after Malabo, Equatorial Guinea withdrew its rights to host the African Games.
Replacement
A new stadium is being built after the original from 1983 was demolished in August 2023. The venue currently under construction on the same site will be one of the venues for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after Guinea was stripped of its hosting rights. The new venue is also planned to be one of the host stadiums for the 2030 FIFA World Cup which Morocco will co-host along with Portugal and Spain.[3][4]
Notable international events
The stadium hosted the following international events:
- 1988 African Cup of Nations
- 2014 FIFA Club World Cup
- 2019 African Games
- 2020 CAF Confederation Cup Final[5][6]
- 2020 Arab Club Champions Cup Final[7][8]
- 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations Final[9][10]
- 2022 CAF Super Cup[11][12]
- 2022 CAF Women's Champions League Final[13][14]
- 2022 FIFA Club World Cup
- 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations Final[15][16]
See also
- List of African stadiums by capacity
- List of football stadiums in Morocco
- List of association football stadiums by capacity
References
- ^ "CAF Activity Report 2021–2022" (PDF). Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ "Construction progress of the new Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat". sportsrender.com. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Stade Moulay Abdellah". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ "CAF strips Guinea of 2025 AFCON hosting rights". africanews.com. 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ "Douala, Rabat named host cities for Interclubs 2019/20 final". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
- ^ Narkortu Teye, Prince. "Caf Confederation Cup: Antwi's Pyramids bow to Berkane in final". Goal.
- ^ Salah Eddine, Mazouz. "Mohammed VI Champions Cup: Raja Casablanca to Play Al-Ittihad August". Morocco World News.
- ^ "Raja Casablanca beat KSA's Al-Ittihad on penalties to win remarkable Arab Club Champions Cup final". Arab News. 2021-08-22. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
- ^ "Wafcon 2022: Morocco will impose their game against technical South Africa - Pedros". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
- ^ "Millions to watch TotalEnergies Women's AFCON Final between Morocco and South Africa on Saturday night". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
- ^ "Capacity crowd expected at the 2022 TotalEnergies Super Cup in Rabat between Wydad and RS Berkane". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
- ^ "Caf Super Cup: Rabat to host final between RS Berkane and Wydad Casablanca". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
- ^ "Final Pre-match Facts: ASFAR (Morocco) vs Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) | CAF Women's Champions League Morocco 2022". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ^ "AS FAR stun nine-woman Mamelodi Sundowns to clinch 2022 Caf Women's Champions League title". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ^ "CAN U23: Morocco join Egypt in the final and qualify for the Olympic Games". Hespress English. 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
- ^ "Morocco triumphs over Mali to reach final, seal Olympics berth | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-07-12.