and U.S. Navy|alt= In 1999-2000, during the
1999 East Timorese crisis and its aftermath, the stadium was used as a makeshift refugee camp and emergency relief distribution point. On 21 December 1999, the stadium hosted the
Tour of Duty – Concert for the Troops, featuring
Kylie Minogue and
John Farnham, for the
Australian troops serving with the
International Force for East Timor (INTERFET). Since 2004, the stadium has been home to the finals of the
Super Liga Timorense, the
Taça Digicel, and, more recently, the
Taça 12 de Novembro and the
Liga Futebol Amadora / Timor-Leste. In 2005, world-renowned soccer player
Cristiano Ronaldo visited Dili stadium and posed for a picture with the President,
Xanana Gusmão. In 2006, the stadium once again housed a refugee camp, for over 1,000 displaced people. A
tournament held between East Timorese national teams, a
UN Police team and
Australian and
New Zealand combined teams was held in May 2007. During the 2010s, the stadium was renovated in two separate projects, commenced in 2011 and 2016, respectively. The 2011 renovations were inaugurated in April 2012 by the then
Prime Minister of Timor-Leste,
Xanana Gusmão. On 12 March 2015, the stadium hosted the first international home match of the
Timor-Leste national football team in the first round
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification against
Mongolia with Timor winning 4–1. The 2016 renovations were valued at , and included the renovation of the grandstand, construction of bathrooms, electricity rooms, and lighting poles, and adding seats to the grandstand. As of mid-2019, those renovations had not yet been completed. On 20 September 2019, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the formation of
INTERFET task force, friendly football matches were played at the stadium between teams of
Falintil and Interfet veterans, and between the Timor-Leste national team and an
Australian Defence Force team. In February 2021, the Board of Directors of the Infrastructure Fund ( (CAFI)) approved an additional budget of more than to complete the 2016 renovations. On 13 June 2022, the
Minister of Justice,
Tiago Amaral Sarmento, met with the
East Timor Football Federation (FFTL), as representative of the International Association Football Federation (
FIFA), and handed over documentation assigning the site of the stadium, including land known as , to the FFTL. The assignment, for a price to be agreed later, was made in connection with a long-term contract between the parties, under which the stadium and other football fields in Timor-Leste would be brought up to international standards, at FIFA's expense. Just under a year later, on 8 June 2023, the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, , announced that FIFA had agreed to build two international standard football stadiums in Timor-Leste, one of them at the National Stadium, and the other at the Xanana Sports Center. He also said that the two stadium designs had been finalised and analysed by a FIFA technical team, and that after data verification was complete, FIFA would call tenders for construction. In 2025, the stadium undergo a renovation in preparation for hosting the 2025
CPLP Games. == Facilities ==