// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Estádio Nacional go to therapy? It had stadium issues.
 The stadium at the reception of the National Team after the 2006 FIFA World Cup | |
 Interactive map of Estádio Nacional [1] | |
Full name | Estádio Nacional |
|---|---|
| Location | Algés, Linda-a-Velha e Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Oeiras |
| Coordinates | 38°42′32″N 9°15′39″W / 38.7088°N 9.2608°W |
| Owner | Portuguese Football Federation |
| Capacity | 37,593 |
| Surface | Grass[2] |
Field size | 105 by 68 metres (344 ft × 223 ft)[2] |
| Construction | |
| Groundbreaking | 1939 |
| Opened | 10 June 1944[2] |
| Renovated | September 2012 |
| Architect | Miguel Jacobetty Rosa[2] |
| Tenants | |
| Portugal national football team (selected matches) Portugal national rugby union team (selected matches)[3] Lusitanos XV (2021-) SL Benfica (2003) B-SAD (2018–2022) Casa Pia (2022–23) Torreense (women) (2025-26) | |
The Estádio Nacional (English: National Stadium), also known as Estádio do Jamor, Estádio Nacional do Jamor or Estádio de Honra (English: Stadium of Honour)[4], is a portuguese multi- purpose sports venue located within the Centro Desportivo Nacional do Jamor (English: Jamor National Sports Centre). Located in the municipality of Oeiras some 12 kilometres from the centre of the national capital Lisbon, the stadium has a capacity of 37,593 spectators.
The spiritual home of Portuguese football, it has hosted the Taça de Portugal final since 1946 and the women's cup final since 2010 almost uninterrupted as well as the national team in over 50 occasions, primarily between 1945 and 1987 with sporadic matches in five other occasions since, most recently in 2026. Domestically, the venue has also been used by clubs in the absence of another ground, namely by Benfica in 2002-03, B-SAD from 2018 to 2022 and Casa Pia A.C. in 2022–23, both as a temporary home ground in the Primeira Liga.
Internationally, the stadium hosted the first ever UEFA club game on 4 September 1955 in a 3-3 tie between Primeira Divisão's third-placed team, Sporting CP, and the Yugoslav champions, Serbian side Partizan.[5] It had previously been the stage for the 1953 Latin Cup won by french side Stade de Reims and later on repeated the duty for the 1967 European Cup Final conquered by Celtic against Inter Milan, earning the winning side the moniker of "Lisbon Lions". Aside from sports, it is occasionally used for concerts, in part due to its bowl shape.
History
[edit]In 1933, the decision was made to construct the national stadium alongside the Jamor valley.[6] The original design was authored by Francisco Caldeira Cabral and Konrad Weisner[7][8] and Jacobetty Rosa, with works beginning in 1939.[6]
It was inaugurated on 10 June 1944 (Portugal Day) by the Council president António Oliveira Salazar.
Work was complete in the Quinta da Graça (in 1953), to install the Comissão Administrativa do Estádio Nacional (National Stadium Administrative Commission).[6]
In 1961, construction on the hippodrome began, in addition to the first phase of work on the shooting range, by the Serviços de Construção e de Conservação (Construction and Conservation Services).[6]
The Plano de Ordenamento do Complexo Desportivo da Jamor (Jamor Sports Complex Development Plan) was issued in July 1982, ordered by the DGEMN (Direção-Geral de Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais, in English, the Directorate-General for Buildings and National Monuments), authored by the architects Vasco Croft (coordinator), Nuno Bártolo and Joaquim Cadima, and by the landscape firm Professor Caldeira Cabral, Associados, Estudos e Projectos, Ld. (under the direction of landscape architects Francisco Caldeira Cabral and agronomist engineer João Caldeira Cabral.[6] During this phase, diagnostic studies were performed to reformulate and re-evaluate the strategic importance of the complex.[6]
In May 1985, the study Estabelecimento de zona de protecção (to establish a protection zone) was ordered by the DGEMN, by architects Vasco Croft and Nuno Bártolo, to limit the sports complex zone, providing a buffer for military access, a non aedificandi zone and urban growth, in addition to expansion for green spaces and support areas for nautical sports.[6]
In 1993, a project to construct a sporting pavilion in Jamor was issued.[6]
In September 2012, the Portuguese Football Federation announced that the stadium would undergo renovation in which work would begin in 2014.[9]
It was announced by the Rugby governing body ERC on 2 September that the Portuguese team would hold their home games at the Estádio Nacional.[10] However, all their home games were played at the Portuguese national rugby teams home stadium of Estádio Universitário de Lisboa.
On 6 February 2015, a tender was issued to cover the western edge of the audience seating for the rugby field.[6]
Architecture
[edit]Architecturally the stadium is noteworthy for its open east side, unusual for a stadium otherwise featuring a typical oval configuration. Its current capacity is 37,593 and it is the venue for the Portuguese football cup final.[11]
Sport
[edit]Football
[edit]See also: Taça de Portugal finals, Taça de Portugal Feminina finals
Since 1946, the stadium has traditionally hosted the final of the Portuguese Cup final; only on seven occassions has this game been played in other venues and in total, 52 Cup finals have been played on the grounds and since the 2010 so has the women's final. Cup finals at the national stadium feature a beloved festival-like atmosphere on matchday, commonly referred to as Jamor's Party or the Cup's Party (Festa do Jamor, Festa da Taça), exhibiting family gatherings and picnics and more recently even organised events as fans begin to pour in from the start of the day. Despite this positive attitude toward the ground, Portuguese football fans have also bemoaned the historic stadium due to a lack of amenities - following Euro 2004, there was a movement to move the event to one of the grounds built for the Euro football championships.[citation needed]
In recent years, other domestic matches have been held at the ground - after the national pyramid was restructured in 2021-22, the first two editions of the new third-tier Liga 3 featured a championship final, played at Jamor (won by Torreense and União de Leiria, respectively). The now fourth-division Campeonato de Portugal also holds its final at the venue since 2017-18, with the exception of the 2019-20 (abandoned) and 2020-21 (Coimbra) editions.
Jamor has, particularly, early on in its history, held international matches. One early example played here occurred on 3 May 1949, when Benfica won a testimonial to their captain Francisco Ferreira against Torino by 4-3 which turned out to be the last one played by the Grande Torino due to the Superga air disaster the following day.[12] In 1953 it held a semi-final and the finals of the Latin Cup and in 1955 the inaugural European Cup match. The most prestigious international game ever staged at the Estádio Nacional, however, was the 1967 European Cup Final, played between Celtic and Internazionale with the former winning 2-1 and thus becoming the first British, Northern Europe or non-Latin team to win the European Cup/Champions League. They became known and celebrated as the Lisbon Lions and the stadium has since become a stop in Celtic fans travels to Lisbon.
In addition to hosting the Portugal national team since 1945, the site has held 50 international events for Portugal.
| Match | Date | Score | Opponent | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11 March 1945 | 2–2 |  Spain | Friendly |
| 2. | 14 April 1946 | 2–1 |  France | Friendly |
| 3. | 16 June 1946 | 3–1 |  Republic of Ireland | Friendly |
| 4. | 5 January 1947 | 2–2 |  Switzerland | Friendly |
| 5. | 26 January 1947 | 4–1 | Spain | Friendly |
| 6. | 25 May 1947 | 0–10 |  England | Friendly |
| 7. | 23 November 1947 | 2–4 | France | Friendly |
| 8. | 23 May 1948 | 2–0 | Republic of Ireland | Friendly |
| 9. | 20 March 1949 | 1–1 | Spain | Friendly |
| 10. | 15 May 1949 | 3–2 |  Wales | Friendly |
| 11. | 9 April 1950 | 2–2 | Spain | World Cup 1950 qualification |
| 12. | 14 May 1950 | 3–5 | England | Friendly |
| 13. | 21 May 1950 | 2–2 |  Scotland | Friendly |
| 14. | 8 April 1951 | 1–4 |  Italy | Friendly |
| 15. | 17 June 1951 | 1–1 |  Belgium | Friendly |
| 16. | 14 December 1952 | 1–3 |  Argentina | Friendly |
| 17. | 22 November 1953 | 3–1 |  South Africa | Friendly |
| 18. | 29 November 1953 | 0–0 |  Austria | World Cup 1954 qualification |
| 19. | 28 November 1954 | 1–3 | Argentina | Friendly |
| 20. | 19 December 1954 | 0–3 |  West Germany | Friendly |
| 21. | 20 November 1955 | 2–6 |  Sweden | Friendly |
| 22. | 25 March 1956 | 3–1 |  Turkey | Friendly |
| 23. | 8 April 1956 | 0–1 |  Brazil | Friendly |
| 24. | 3 June 1956 | 3–1 | Spain | Friendly |
| 25. | 9 June 1956 | 2–2 |  Hungary | Friendly |
| 26. | 26 May 1957 | 3–0 | Italy | World Cup 1958 qualification |
| 27. | 8 May 1960 | 2–1 |  Yugoslavia | Euro 1960 Quarter-finals |
| 28. | 19 March 1961 | 6–0 |  Luxembourg | World Cup 1962 qualification |
| 29. | 21 May 1961 | 1–1 | England | World Cup 1962 qualification |
| 30. | 4 June 1961 | 0–2 | Argentina | Friendly |
| 31. | 21 April 1963 | 1–0 | Brazil | Friendly |
| 32. | 17 May 1964 | 3–4 | England | Friendly |
| 33. | 24 January 1965 | 5–1 | Turkey | World Cup 1966 qualification |
| 34. | 13 June 1965 | 2–1 |  Romania | World Cup 1966 qualification |
| 35. | 12 June 1966 | 4–0 |  Norway | Friendly |
| 36. | 26 June 1966 | 3–0 |  Uruguay | Friendly |
| 37. | 13 November 1966 | 1–2 | Sweden | Euro 1968 qualifying |
| 38. | 17 December 1967 | 0–0 |  Bulgaria | Euro 1968 qualifying |
| 39. | 27 October 1968 | 3–0 | Romania | World Cup 1970 qualification |
| 40. | 6 April 1969 | 0–0 |  Mexico | Friendly |
| 41. | 10 May 1970 | 1–2 | Italy | Friendly |
| 42. | 1 November 1979 | 3–1 | Norway | Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 43. | 2 June 1984 | 2–3 | Yugoslavia | Friendly |
| 44. | 24 February 1985 | 1–2 | West Germany | World Cup 1986 qualification |
| 45. | 12 October 1986 | 1–1 | Sweden | Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 46. | 14 February 1987 | 0–1 | Italy | Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 47. | 18 August 1999 | 4–0 |  Andorra | Friendly |
| 48. | 10 June 2003 | 4–0 |  Bolivia | Friendly |
| 49. | 31 May 2014 | 0–0 |  Greece | Friendly |
| 50. | 8 June 2024 | 1–2 |  Croatia | Friendly |
| 51. | 6 June 2026 | 2–1 |  Chile | Friendly |
Rugby
[edit]The Rugby governing body ERC announced on 2 September 2014 that the Portuguese club Lusitanos XV would hold their home games of the 2013-14 Amlin Challenge Cup at National Stadium.[13] However, all their home games of the 2013-14 Amlin Challenge Cup were played at the Portuguese national rugby teams home stadium of Estádio Universitário de Lisboa.
Since 2017, the Portuguese national rugby team has played selected matches at the Estádio Nacional. Several other matches were played at the rugby fields directly east of the ground (Campo de Treino de Râguebi/Rugby, registered in match reports as CAR Jamor) particularly in 2021 and 2022, including matches from those editions of the Rugby Europe Championship and the inaugural Rugby Europe Super Cup final, in which Lusitanos XV lost to the georgian development team, Black Lion.
| Match | Date | Score | Opponent | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 18 February 2017 | 35-10 |  Poland | 2016-17 Rugby Europe Trophy |
| 2. | 11 March 2017 | 59-0 |  Moldova | 2016-17 Rugby Europe Trophy |
| 3. | 18 November 2017 | 45-12 |  Czech Republic | 2017-18 Rugby Europe Trophy/ 2019 Rugby World Cup Qualifiers - Europe, R4 Final |
| 4. | 4 February 2023 | 54-17 | Belgium | 2023 Rugby Europe Championship Pool B |
| 5. | 10 February 2024 | 54-7 | Poland | 2024 Rugby Europe Championship Pool B |
| 6. | 1 March 2025 | 31-42 | Spain | 2025 Rugby Europe Championship SF |
| 7. | 16 March 2025 | 7-21 | Romania | 2025 Rugby Europe Championship 3rd Place Play-off |
| 8. | 12 July 2025 | 7-106 |  Ireland | Test match (Friendly) |
| 9. | 8 November 2025 | 8-26 | Uruguay | Test match (Friendly) |
| 10. | 15 November 2025 | 58-12 |  Hong Kong | Test match (Friendly) |
| 11. | 22 February 2026 | 44-7 | Romania | 2024 Rugby Europe Championship Pool B |
Concerts and Events
[edit]There have been notable concerts at the stadium, including The Police on 25 September 2007, as part of their The Police Reunion Tour and the Black Eyed Peas on 30 May 2010, during their The E.N.D. World Tour. Iron Maiden played a post-pandemic show at the stadium on 31 July 2022, on the final date of their Legacy of the Beast Tour.
Over the last few decades, Jamor has occasionally also been host to concerts and other cultural events, using it's natural bowl shape and environs to its advantage. In 1999, organisers Tournée held a three-day hard rock festival called at the stadium called T-99. Despite having several large names for the time and genre, it wasn't a commercial success and so plans for a return the following year, a "T-2000", were effectively shelved.[14] During the 2000s The Police also gave a concert at the venue and the Black Eyed Peas gave a concert in 2010, supported the Portuguese Football Federation among others, celebrating the national team's departure to South Africa for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup for which the band's hit "I Gotta Feeling" had become the squad's unofficial song for the tournament.[15] Alongside the hip-hop lineup, due to the national nature of the concert's purpose, fado singer Ana Moura sang the national anthem before the main event.[16]
Over a decade later, Jamor returned to music by hosting the very last VOA Heavy Rock Festival after the COVID-19 pandemic. While it had become a known name in the scene, the Vagos-based festival had come into financial pressure and had since moved to the Lisbon area in 2019 and has since been replaced in its cradle by Vagos Metal Fest from 2022 and EvilLive in Lisbon from 2023. For its final edition, it held three days of concerts at Jamor, with Bring Me The Horizon and Sabaton as headliners. Avenged Sevenfold was intended to front the first day but due to constraints regarding their tour backed out and were replaced in time by french band Gojira.[17] Jamor held one more concert that year housing Iron Maiden's Legacy of the Beast World Tour a few weeks after the festival.
Aside major concerts, the Jamor Valley isn't a stranger to cultural events. In 1977 and 1978, the then-existing hippodrome at the complex had held PCP's second and third editions of the Avante! Festival, until they were blocked by the government in power due to a never built project.[18] On the 24 July 1999, a human formation drew the Euro 2004 bid logo on the national pitch to promote an image of unity behind the tournament.[19] The complex grounds have also held other cultural initiatives such as several editions of the children's Festival Panda.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Visiting the Portuguese National Stadium". Football-Weekends. Lucas Laermans. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "Estádio de Honra". Centro Desportivo Nacional do Jamor (in Portuguese). Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ↑ https://www.rugbypass.com/news/portugal-forced-into-change-of-plans-for-historic-ireland-test/
- ↑ Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude (IPDJ). "Mapa do Centro Nacional Desportivo do Jamor" (PDF). Centro Nacional Desportivo do Jamor (CNDJ) - IPDJ (jamor.ipdj.pt). Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ "When Sporting and Partizan broke new ground". UEFA. José Nuno Pimentel. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Costa, Patrícia; Elias, Margarida (2014), Centro de Investigação em Arquitectura, Urbanismo e Design (CIAUD-FA/UTL) (ed.), Complexo Desportivo do Estádio Nacional/Complexo Desportivo do Jamor (IPA.00022419/PT031110080066) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, archived from the original on 29 November 2020, retrieved 5 May 2017
- ↑ Do Estádio Nacional ao Jardim Gulbenkian, Francisco Caldeira Cabral e a Primeira Geração de Arquitectos Paisagistas, de Teresa Andresen
- ↑ "Centenário Francisco Caldeira Cabral » O Estádio Nacional e a polémica que envolveu este projecto". proffranciscocaldeiracabral.portaldojardim.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Jamor vai acolher a "Cidade do Futebol": obras começam em 2014" [Jamor will host the "Soccer City": works begin in 2014]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 5 September 2012. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
- ↑ "News | ERC | Official Website : Portuguese club to compete in Amlin Challenge Cup". www.ercrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-05.
- ↑ "Conheça os principais estádios em Portugal | FPF". portugalstore.fpf.pt. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
- ↑ "The last game of Grande Torino at Lisbon, May 4th 1949". Fox Sports. 2018-08-12. Archived from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ↑ ERCRugby.comArchived 2013-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
- 1 2 Luz Pedro, Tiago (20 July 1999). "Ípsilon - "T-99 não foi um presente para a Tournée"". Jornal Público. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Arquivo - Tribuna Desportiva - Black Eyed Peas dão concerto no Jamor de apoio à selecção". Jornal Expresso. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Record (28 May 2010). "Black Eyed Peas tocam "I gotta feeling" no Jamor". Jornal Record. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Revista Blitz (9 March 2022). "Festival VOA Heavy Rock: Avenged Sevenfold saem devido a "conflito de agenda". Substituto anunciado". Jornal Expresso. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Pinheiro, Marta (2014). "A Festa do Avante! : Um Festival Igual aos Outros?" (PDF). Repositório da Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Cordoeiro, Rodrigo (25 July 1999). "Portugal unido pelo futebol". Jornal Público. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Luz Pedro, Tiago (18 July 1999). "Ípsilon - "Anjos e demónios da América"". Jornal Público. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Metallica. "Metallica at T99 Festival at Estádio Nacional do Jamor, Lisbon, Portugal on 16 July". Metallica.com. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ "Brand New Day: 1999/01 - 308 (Estádio Nacional - Lisbon, PT) [Press reports on the concert]". Sting.com (Artist's official website). Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Pereira, Cristiano (29 May 2007). "The Police tocam no Jamor no dia 25 de Setembro". Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ "Police Reunion 2007/08 - 2336 (Estádio Nacional, PT) [Newspaper reports of the concerts]". Sting.com. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Jamor (18 April 2010). "Concerto dos Black Eyed Peas". Jamor - Centro Desportivo Nacional / IPDJ - Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Jamor - Centro Desportivo Nacional (24 June 2022). "Festival VOA". Jamor - Centro Desportivo Nacional, IPDJ - Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude.
- ↑ Silva, Inês (5 July 2022). "Reportagens - VOA – Heavy Rock Festival 2022". Altamont. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ Rodrigues, João Miguel - text; Carmo, Rita - photography (1 August 2022). "Iron Maiden ao vivo no Estádio Nacional: mais do que um concerto de rock, uma peça de teatro". Jornal Expresso - Revista Blitz. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
Bibliography
[edit]Relatório da Actividade do Ministério no Ano de 1961 (in Portuguese), vol. 1, Lisbon, Portugal: Ministério das Obras Públicas, 1962
- Football venues in Portugal
- Rugby union stadiums in Portugal
- National stadiums
- Estado Novo (Portugal) architecture
- Sports venues in Lisbon District
- Buildings and structures in Oeiras, Portugal
- Sports venues completed in 1944
- Sport in Oeiras, Portugal
- Athletics venues in Portugal
- Multi-purpose stadiums in Portugal
- 1944 establishments in Portugal
- Athletics in Lisbon