Qemal Stafa Stadium

(left) The original stadium was built in an Olympic Stadium shape, as idealized by Gherardo Bosio, a young fascist architect from Florence, Italy. Its planned capacity was 15,000; Tirana at that time had less than 60,000 inhabitants so the stadium would have been more than sufficient. The stadium is used by the Albania national football team and for the home games of Tirana-based Albanian football clubs: KF Tirana, Partizani, and Dinamo. ==Recent issues==

Plans for demolition and reconstruction In June 2010, the Albanian government put the stadium on a list of assets for sale. During the summer of 2010, there was a disagreement between the Albanian Football Association (FSHF) and the Albanian government as to the disposition of the stadium. FSHF, sponsored by UEFA, proposed that the stadium, rather than being sold, should be totally donated by the government to FSHF, under the condition that the stadium receive UEFA funding for its reconstruction. On 8 October 2010, Albania's Prime Minister Sali Berisha declared that for the 100th anniversary of the Albanian Declaration of Independence, which will occur in 2012, a new national stadium will be built in Tirana. The new stadium, already approved by the Albanian Football Association and the government, will replace the existing one which will be demolished. The number of seats is expected to be more than 22,500. The total construction cost will be around € 60 million, and 75% of the property rights of the stadium will belong to the Albanian Football Association, and the remaining 25% to the Albanian government. Once finished, the stadium is expected to be of category four, the highest UEFA category, and will potentially be able to host Champion League final matches. The demolition of the old stadium started in June 2016. Renaming In January 2010, after the death of the notable Albanian player Panajot Pano, an official request from the Partizani Tirana club and from the Albanian Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports was addressed to the Albanian government for the stadium to be renamed after the famous footballer. ==The Qemal Stafa "Curse"==

During the early 2000s, the stadium was considered a "curse" for other national teams by the Albanian media, partly due to the fact that Albania rarely lost their home games. In a period from September 2001 to October 2004, Albania went undefeated at this ground. Illustrious national teams such as Greece, who had just won Euro 2004, were eclipsed by Albania in 2004, whereas teams like Sweden, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, and Bulgaria had to settle for hotly contested draws in an intimidating arena. Before this period, during 1986 World Cup qualifying round, future semi-finalist Belgium lost 2-0 at Qemal Stafa. ==References==