Izmir Atatürk Stadium

There is no doubt that Istanbul is the first city that comes to mind when it comes to football in Turkey. When you turn the lens on this fun and competitive sport dominated by 3 big clubs for many years, the city of Izmir comes to you. Izmir Atatürk Stadium, which stands out with its capacity, is a real added value in terms of sports tradition, even when many leading football clubs in Turkey and around the world have stadiums of 20-30 thousand people. It wouldn't be wrong to call it a veteran stadium, one of the city's landmarks. It was built for the Mediterranean Games held from 6-17 October 1971. It has a capacity of 51,337 people and features the 2nd largest Olympic Stadium within the borders of the country. It stands out not only in terms of football but also in terms of athletics; it has the largest track and field in that scope. The top is largely open. It has been cited by some authorities as one of the top 100 stadiums in the world. In the 1970s, the Turkish national team was called it as ‘auspicious stadium’ when it left its matches in this stadium undefeated for many years. It hosted three international events which were The 6.Mediterranean Games in 1971, the Islamic countries Sports Games in 1980 and the World University Summer Games in 2005. There is another interesting detail of this magnificent stadium… Goztepe-Karsiyaka match, which will be promoted the winning team to the 1.league in 1981, was watched by 61 thousand 60 people as a spectator record. It continues to host 4 prominent football clubs of İzmir being Izmirspor, Goztepe, Karsiyaka, and Altay's competitions, which hosts fewer national matches than in the old years.