Mỹ Đình National Stadium
 Mỹ Đình National Stadium in 2022
| |
| Location | Nam Từ Liêm, Hanoi, Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 21°1′14″N 105°45′49.7″E |
| Owner | Vietnamese government |
| Operator | Vietnam National Sports Complex |
| Capacity | 40,192 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 2002 |
| Built | 2002–2003 |
| Opened | 2 September 2003 |
| Renovated | 7 September 2016 |
| Construction cost | US$53 million |
| Architect | Hanoi International Group, HISG |
| Tenants | |
|
Vietnam national football team Vietnam women's national football team (Selected matches) Hanoi FC (2023–24 AFC Champions League) | |
The Mỹ Đình National Stadium (Vietnamese: Sân vận động Quốc gia Mỹ Đình) is a multi-purpose stadium in Nam Từ Liêm district, Hanoi, Vietnam. It has a capacity of 40,192 seats and is the centerpiece of Vietnam's National Sports Complex. It was officially opened in September 2003 and was the main venue for the Southeast Asian Games later that year, hosting the opening and closing ceremony as well as the men's football and athletics events.
The stadium is home to the Vietnam national football team, and hosts its home international matches. It was also the home venue of the football club Thể Công (now Viettel FC).
Located 10 kilometres north-west of central Hanoi, the 40,192-seat stadium is the second biggest in the country in terms of capacity and was built at a cost of US$53 million. Arched roofs cover the grandstands on the east and west sides of the arena, providing shelter for half of the seats. The area provides training facilities for the teams with two football training grounds located next to the stadium.
Since 2021, the stadium has attracted complaints mainly about the quality of the pitch, starting with its hosting of the Vietnam–Australia match in the third AFC qualification round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It has since come under further scrutiny after hosting Borussia Dortmund in an international friendly, of which the goalpost was broken mid-game, and Southeast Asian teams in the 2022 AFF Championship.
History
Ideas for a new national stadium in Vietnam were marked up in 1998 as the government conducted a prefeasibility study for a national sports complex. In July 2000, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải approved a project of a stadium at the heart of Vietnam's National Sports Complex in preparation for hosting the 2003 Southeast Asian Games. Four firms, namely Hanoi International Group (HISG - China), Philipp Holzmann (Germany), Bouygues (France), and Lemna-Keystone (United States), participated in the bidding of the stadium's construction. The process was controversial due to violations of technical and financial requirements in HISG and Holzmann's bids, corruption allegations involving a French donation, and the intransparency in the panel's decision making. In the end, HISG won the bid and signed a commitment contract on August 14, 2001.
Construction on the stadium started in 2002. During the development phase, the stadium was referred to as Sân vận động Trung tâm ("central stadium"). The stadium was architecturally complete in June 2003. In August 2003, the stadium was officially named Mỹ Đình National Stadium, taking after the name of the commune area the stadium is located within. It was inaugurated on September 2, 2003, to coincide with Vietnam's National Day.
Interior
Stands
Mỹ Đình has 4 stands. The A & B stands (or east and west stands, respectively) are covered each by an arched roof weighing 2,300 tonnes. These two stands have two tiers and are 25.8 m (85 ft) tall while the C & D stands (or south and north stands) are single-tiered and 8.4 m (28 ft) tall. In total, the stadium has a capacity of 40,192 seats, including 450 VIP seats and 160 seats for journalists.
Field
The playing grass field has a size of 105m x 67m, surrounded by an 8-lane athletics track and other athletics facilities.
Events
Sporting events
The stadium officially opened on September 2, 2003, with the opening friendly match between the Vietnam U23 and Shanghai Shenhua from Chinese Super League.
It hosted the 2003 Southeast Asian Games (opening ceremony, football and athletics, closing ceremony), and 2003 ASEAN Para Games.
The Hanoi football club was scheduled to play at the stadium, but later backed out of their agreement, citing the embarrassment of using an 40,000+ seat venue for games that routinely draw only slightly more than 5,000.
In July 2007, Mỹ Đình Stadium hosted the Group B of 2007 AFC Asian Cup along with Quân khu 7 Stadium (Ho Chi Minh City), quarter-final match (Japan vs Australia) and semi-final match (Japan vs Saudi Arabia).
Mỹ Đình Stadium held the opening ceremony of the 2009 Asian Indoor Games from October 30, 2009, to November 8.
In December 2010, it held Group B of 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup from December 2 to December 8.
The stadium hosted sections of the 2021 Southeast Asian Games, in particular the opening ceremony, and football and athletics events.
In addition, this stadium held many domestic and international football competitions:
- 2008 AFC Champions League (Nam Định selected this stadium as its own Thiên Trường Stadium did not meet AFC's criteria)
- 2008 The stadium held an international friendly match between Vietnam and Olympic Brazil
- 2010 VFF Cup
- 2011 V-League (25th round match between Hà Nội ACB and Sông Lam Nghệ An)
- 2011 VFF Cup
- 2012 Football at the Summer Olympics – Men's Asian Qualifiers Playoff Round
The three runners-up from the third round groups played each other at a neutral venue on 25, 27 and 29 March 2012. Vietnam was later chosen by the AFC Competitions Committee as the neutral venue, with games played at Hanoi's Mỹ Đình Stadium.
- On 17 July 2013, the stadium held an international friendly match between Vietnam and Arsenal.
- On 27 July 2015, the stadium held an international friendly match between Vietnam and Manchester City.
- On September 7, 2021, the stadium hosted the first match in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round between Vietnam and Australia. This is also the first time VAR and Goal-line have been applied in Vietnam (made by Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd).
- On 30 November 2022, the stadium held an international friendly match between Vietnam and Borussia Dortmund, which saw a shock host win of 2-1 after a controversial second goal in the last minutes of the match.
- 2023–24 AFC Champions League (Hanoi FC selected this stadium as its own Hàng Đẫy Stadium did not meet AFC's criteria).
Entertainment events
Mỹ Đình National Stadium has hosted various entertainment events. On March 27, 2010, an MTV EXIT concert was held here with the appearance of Korean boy band Super Junior, Australian singer Kate Miller-Heidke, along with other local Vietnamese singers. On October 1, 2011, the Irish boyband Westlife performed at the stadium as a part of their Gravity Tour; about 11,000 people attended the concert. The stadium was also the starting location of the 2012 season of The Amazing Race Vietnam. On May 26, 2013, MTV EXIT held a concert featuring the Canadian pop punk band Simple Plan.
The stadium has also been the venue for various K-pop concerts. It was the venue for a special concert of MBC's Music Core on December 8, 2012, KBS's Music Bank World Tour on March 28, 2015, Asia Artist Awards on November 26, 2019, and two Born Pink concerts by girl group Blackpink on July 29 and 30, 2023.
Tournament results
The stadium has hosted several international FIFA matches. Here is a list of the most important international matches held at the stadium.
2003 Southeast Asian Games
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 November 2003 | 15:00 | Indonesia | 1–0 | Laos | Group A (opening match) | — |
| 30 November 2003 | 17:30 | Thailand | 1–1 | Vietnam | Group A | — |
| 9 December 2003 | 16:00 | Thailand | 2–0 | Myanmar | Semi-final | — |
| 9 December 2003 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 4–3 | Malaysia | Semi-final | — |
| 12 December 2003 | 16:30 | Malaysia | 1–1 (4–2 pen.) | Myanmar | Bronze medal match | — |
| 12 December 2003 | 19:00 | Thailand | 2–1 | Vietnam | Final | — |
2004 AFF Championship
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 December 2004 | 17:00 | Laos | 2–1 | Cambodia | Group Stage | N/A |
| 11 December 2004 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 0–3 | Indonesia | Group Stage | N/A |
| 13 December 2004 | 17:00 | Singapore | 6–2 | Laos | Group Stage | N/A |
| 13 December 2004 | 19:30 | Indonesia | 8–0 | Cambodia | Group Stage | N/A |
| 15 December 2004 | 18:00 | Vietnam | 3–0 | Laos | Group Stage | N/A |
2007 AFF Championship
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 January 2007 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 0–2 | Thailand | Semifinals first leg | 40.000 |
2007 AFC Asian Cup
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 July 2007 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 2–0 | United Arab Emirates | Group B | 39,450 |
| 9 July 2007 | 17:15 | Japan | 1–1 | Qatar | Group B | 5,000 |
| 12 July 2007 | 19:30 | Qatar | 1–1 | Vietnam | Group B | 40,000 |
| 13 July 2007 | 20:30 | United Arab Emirates | 1–3 | Japan | Group B | 5,000 |
| 16 July 2007 | 17:15 | Vietnam | 1–4 | Japan | Group B | 40,000 |
| 21 July 2007 | 17:15 | Japan | 1–1 (4–3 pen.) | Australia | Quarter-final | 25,000 |
| 25 July 2007 | 20:15 | Japan | 2–3 | Saudi Arabia | Semi-final | 10,000 |
2008 AFF Championship
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 December 2008 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 0–0 | Singapore | Semifinals first leg | 40.000 |
| 28 December 2008 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 1–1(3-2) | Thailand | Final second leg | 40.000 |
2010 AFF Championship
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 December 2010 | 17:00 | Singapore | 1–1 | Philippines | Group Stage | N/A |
| 2 December 2010 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 7–1 | Myanmar | Group Stage | 40.000 |
| 5 December 2010 | 17:00 | Singapore | 2–1 | Myanmar | Group Stage | N/A |
| 5 December 2010 | 19:30 | Philippines | 2–0 | Vietnam | Group Stage | 40.000 |
| 8 December 2010 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 1–0 | Singapore | Group Stage | 40.000 |
| 18 December 2010 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 0–0(0-2) | Malaysia | Semifinals second leg | 40.000 |
2014 AFF Championship
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 November 2014 | 16:00 | Philippines | 4–1 | Laos | Group Stage | N/A |
| 22 November 2014 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 2–2 | Indonesia | Group Stage | N/A |
| 25 November 2014 | 16:00 | Philippines | 4–0 | Indonesia | Group Stage | N/A |
| 25 November 2014 | 19:00 | Laos | 0–3 | Vietnam | Group Stage | N/A |
| 28 November 2014 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 3–1 | Philippines | Group Stage | N/A |
| 11 December 2014 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 2–4(4-5) | Malaysia | Semifinals second leg | N/A |
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 October 2015 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 1–1 | Iraq | Group F | 10.000 |
| 13 October 2015 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 0–3 | Thailand | Group F | 35.000 |
| 24 March 2016 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 4–1 | Chinese Taipei | Group F | 18.350 |
2016 AFF Championship
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 December 2016 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 2–2 (3–4(a.e.t.)) | Indonesia | Semifinals second leg | 40.000 |
2018 AFF Championship
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 November 2018 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 2–0 | Malaysia | Group Stage | 40,000 |
| 6 December 2018 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 2–1(4-2) | Philippines | Semifinals second leg | 38,816 |
| 15 December 2018 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 1–0(3-2) | Malaysia | Finals second leg | 44,625 |
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 October 2019 | 20:00 | Vietnam | 1–0 | Malaysia | Group G (second round) | 38,256 |
| 14 November 2019 | 20:00 | Vietnam | 1–0 | United Arab Emirates | 37,879 | |
| 19 November 2019 | 20:00 | Vietnam | 0–0 | Thailand | 40,000 | |
| 7 September 2021 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 0–1 | Australia | Group B (third round) | 0 |
| 11 November 2021 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 0–1 | Japan | 11,022 | |
| 16 November 2021 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 0–1 | Saudi Arabia | 9,669 | |
| 1 February 2022 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 3–1 | China | 6,099 | |
| 24 March 2022 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 0–1 | Oman | 6,923 |
2021 Southeast Asian Games
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May 2022 | 16:00 | Malaysia | 1–1(3–4) | Indonesia | Bronze medal match | 25,589 |
| 22 May 2022 | 19:00 | Vietnam | 1–0 | Thailand | Final | 39,898 |
2022 AFF Championship
| Date | Time (UTC+7) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 December 2022 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 3–0 | Malaysia | Group Stage | 17,545 |
| 3 January 2023 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 3–0 | Myanmar | Group Stage | 11,575 |
| 9 January 2023 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 2–0(2-0) | Indonesia | Semi-final 2nd leg | 23,989 |
| 13 January 2023 | 19:30 | Vietnam | 2–2 | Thailand | Final 1st leg | 38,539 |
Concerts
| Date | Artists | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 4 April 2004 | Mỹ Tâm | Liveshow: Ngày ấy và bây giờ |
| 21 June 2004 | Sarah Brightman | Harem World Tour |
| 27 March 2010 |
Performers
|
MTV EXIT |
| 26 March 2011 | Backstreet Boys | This Is Us Tour |
| 1 October 2011 | Westlife | Gravity Tour |
| 26 May 2012 | MTV EXIT | |
| 29 November 2012 | K-pop Festival 2012 – Concert in Vietnam | |
| 28 March 2015 | Music Bank World Tour | |
| 25 March 2017 | MBC Music K-Plus Concert in Vietnam | |
| 20 May 2017 |
Hardwell Jewelz & Sparks |
Go Hardwell or Go Home |
| 26 October 2019 |
Performers
|
FWD Music Fest |
| 11 January 2020 | 2020 K-pop Super Concert in Hanoi | |
| 5 November 2022 | Mỹ Tâm | Liveshow: Tri âm |
| 29–30 July 2023 | Blackpink | Born Pink World Tour |
Incidents, scandals and controversies
Fireworks explosion in 2010
At approximately 11:40 AM (UTC+07:00) on October 6, 2010, an explosion occurred at My Dinh National Stadium. The cause was confirmed to be the explosion of two containers of fireworks due to negligence in the installation of the firing position; this was a rehearsal for the Cultural and Artistic Night program commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi, which was scheduled to be held officially on October 10, 2010. As a result, four victims were killed (two Germans, one Singaporean, one Vietnamese) and three victims were injured, including Germans, Singaporeans, and Vietnamese.
Deteriorating field quality and equipment
2021 and SEA Games 31
Since the second half of 2021, there has been a lot of public criticism regarding the quality of the pitch and facilities at the stadium. The wave of criticism began in early September 2021, when the Vietnamese national team hosted Australia in the third round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers; Australian media and fans at the time compared the My Dinh pitch to a "cow pasture". According to the Lao Dong newspaper, the Mỹ Đình stadium turf has not been replaced in nearly 10 years. It has mainly been maintained on the old soil and grass, so as soon as the weather changes abnormally, there are immediately problems with aesthetics and quality. In addition, some areas and functional rooms at Mỹ Đình stadium have deteriorated seriously due to lack of maintenance for a long time. To explain this deterioration, the issue of funding has been raised by the relevant parties. After the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) requested to improve the Mỹ Đình stadium turf and functional rooms, the stadium was renovated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam to host the next World Cup qualifying matches and also to prepare for the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in May 2022. Before the SEA Games 31, the government granted more than 400 billion VND to the Ministry of Culture - Sports and Tourism to repair the National Sports Complex. However, the replacement of the Mỹ Đình stadium turf was not carried out. Up to the match for third place and the final of the men's football event at the SEA Games 31, the Mỹ Đình stadium turf continued to be seriously damaged due to the installation of the stage for the SEA Games opening ceremony, which caused the grass to wilt and die quite a lot.
Incident in the friendly match between Vietnam and Borussia Dortmund
On November 30, 2022, in a friendly match between Vietnam and Borussia Dortmund, in the 86th minute of the match, the crossbar of the Dortmund goal was knocked out, causing the match to be interrupted for 5 minutes. In addition, during the half-time break, the technical area of the two teams and the referee's area were blown over many times by the wind.
AFF Cup 2022
At this point, the quality of the Mỹ Đình Stadium has deteriorated significantly. The condition of the pitch has been described by local media as "hotter than the Vietnamese national team", "an ugly image"", "shabby", "dirt pitch", "like playing football in the field".
Before the 2022 AFF Cup, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) signed a contract with the National Sports Complex to rent My Dinh Stadium as the home stadium of the Vietnamese national team. The rental fee for each match of the Vietnamese national team is 800 million VND, the highest in the history of this stadium. However, the stadium's turf is described as old, faded, and poor. The seats are faded and dirty because all 40,000 seats installed since 2003 have not been replaced. In addition, according to the Hanoi Tax Department, as of 2023, the National Sports Complex owes 855 billion VND in taxes.
To explain this phenomenon, the Director General of the General Department of Physical Education and Sports, Mr. Đặng Hà Việt, said that the reason was not due to lack of funding but because of "forgetting to maintain". According to Mr. Việt, maintenance and care work has been carried out regularly in the past month, but the harsh weather in Hanoi with little sunshine has made the pitch not as green as expected. Moreover, the AFC has assessed that the Mỹ Đình pitch is still in good condition for competition. However, the explanation that the pitch deteriorated due to the weather was considered baseless by many fans, because before that, when the Vietnamese national team hosted China in the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in early 2023, the pitch at Mỹ Đình was still very beautiful and green. This shows that the current Mỹ Đình pitch has deteriorated due to lack of careful care. The messy state of the stadium has become the focus of criticism from Vietnam and foreign fans.
On January 4, 2023, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính commented on the condition of Mỹ Đình National Stadium. He stressed and questioned the fact that the stadium is not being exploited and is only relying on state funds. To address the deteriorating condition before the Vietnam-Indonesia match (to be played on January 9), on the evening of January 6, Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng asked the Rector of Bắc Ninh University of Physical Education to direct the school's youth and student union to organize a volunteer activity to help clean up the environment and landscape of Mỹ Đình Stadium.