Mỹ Đình National Stadium


The Mỹ Đình National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Từ Liêm Ward, 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 football team, and hosts its home international matches.
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. The delay in the renovation of Mỹ Đình Stadium, despite the huge funding provided by the Vietnamese government, has led to several allegations of corruption and lack of financial transparency on the part of the Stadium Management Board.
FB MyDinhStadium

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, Philipp Holzmann, Bouygues, and Lemna-Keystone, 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. 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 are covered each by an arched roof weighing 2,300 tonnes. These two stands have two tiers and are tall while the C & D stands are single-tiered and 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, 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, quarter-final match and semi-final match.
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:
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.

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 and AFC matches. Here is a list of the most important international matches held at the stadium.

2003 SEA Games">Football at the 2003 SEA Games">2003 SEA Games

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
30 November 200315:001–0Group A
30 November 200317:301–1Group A40,000
9 December 200316:002–0Semi-Final
9 December 200319:004–3Semi-Final40,000
12 December 200316:301–1 Bronze medal match
12 December 200319:002–1Gold medal match40,000

[2006 [FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round]]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
18 February 200417:004–0Group 725,000

[2004 AFF Championship]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
11 December 200417:002–1Group StageN/A
11 December 200419:300–3Group StageN/A
13 December 200417:006–2Group StageN/A
13 December 200419:308–0Group StageN/A
15 December 200418:003–0Group StageN/A

[2007 AFF Championship]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
24 January 200719:000–2Semi-Final first leg40,000

[Football at the [2008 Summer Olympics – Men's Asian qualifiers preliminary round 2|2008 Summer Olympics qualification (AFC Round 2)]]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
18 April 200717:002–0Group C20,000
6 June 200720:302–1Group C35,000

[2007 AFC Asian Cup]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
8 July 200719:302–0Group B39,450
9 July 200717:151–1Group B5,000
12 July 200719:301–1Group B40,000
13 July 200720:301–3Group B5,000
16 July 200717:151–4Group B40,000
21 July 200717:151–1 Quarter-Final25,000
25 July 200720:152–3Semi-Final10,000

2008 Summer Olympics qualification (AFC Round 3)">Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's Asian qualifiers preliminary round 3">2008 Summer Olympics qualification (AFC Round 3)

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
8 September 200719:151–1Group C14,000
12 September 200719:151–1Group C10,000

[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
8 October 200720:300–1First leg20,000

2008 Summer Olympics qualification (AFC Round 3)">Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's Asian qualifiers preliminary round 3">2008 Summer Olympics qualification (AFC Round 3)

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
17 November 200719:150–4Group C7,000

[2008 AFF Championship]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
17 December 200819:000–0Semi-Final first leg40,000
28 December 200819:001–1 Final second leg40,000

[2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
14 January 200919:003–1Group D13,000
14 November 200919:000–1Group D30,000
17 January 201019:001–2Group D3,000

[2010 AFF Championship]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
2 December 201017:001–1Group StageN/A
2 December 201019:307–1Group Stage35,000
5 December 201017:002–1Group StageN/A
5 December 201019:302–0Group Stage37,879
8 December 201019:301–0Group Stage40,000
18 December 201019:000–0 Semi-Final second leg40,000

2012 Summer Olympics qualification (AFC Round 2)">Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's Asian qualifiers preliminary round 2">2012 Summer Olympics qualification (AFC Round 2)

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
23 June 201119:151–4Round 215,000

[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
28 July 201119:152–1 Second leg20,000

[2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
6 February 201318:001–2Group E7,200
15 November 201319:000–3Group E9,000
5 March 201421:003–1Group E5,800

[2014 AFF U-19 Youth Championship]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
5 September 201416:302–6Group A18,350
5 September 201419:001–0Group B37,879
7 September 201416:303–4Group B1,025
7 September 201419:001–2Group A1,598
9 September 201416:303–0Group A17,545
9 September 201419:003–2Group B39,898
11 September 201416:302–1Semi-finals23,989
11 September 201419:151–4Semi-finals44,625
13 September 201416:301–0Third place play-off25,589
13 September 201419:150–1Final50,000

[2014 AFF Championship]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
22 November 201416:004–1Group StageN/A
22 November 201419:002–2Group StageN/A
25 November 201416:004–0Group StageN/A
25 November 201419:000–3Group StageN/A
28 November 201419:003–1Group StageN/A
11 December 201419:002–4 Semi-Final second legN/A

[2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
8 October 201519:001–1Group F10,000
13 October 201519:000–3Group F35,000
24 March 201619:004–1Group F18,350

[2016 AFF Championship]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
7 December 201619:002–2 Semi-Final second leg40,000

[2019 [AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round]]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
10 October 201719:005–0Group C11,000
14 November 201719:000–0Group C28,580

[2018 AFF Championship]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
16 November 201819:302–0Group Stage40,000
6 December 201819:302–1 Semi-Final second leg38,816
15 December 201819:301–0 Final second leg44,625

[2020 [AFC U-23 Championship qualification]]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
22 March 201917:004–0Group K1,053
22 March 201920:006–0Group K7,689
24 March 201917:000–8Group K1,178
24 March 201920:000–1Group K25,591
26 March 201917:002–1Group K825
26 March 201920:004–0Group K38,278

[2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
10 October 201920:001–0Group G (second round)38,256
14 November 201920:001–0Group G (second round)37,879
19 November 201920:000–0Group G (second round)40,000
7 September 202119:000–1Group B (third round)0
11 November 202119:000–1Group B (third round)11,022
16 November 202119:000–1Group B (third round)9,669
1 February 202219:003–1Group B (third round)6,099
24 March 202219:000–1Group B (third round)6,923

[Football at the [2021 SEA Games – Men's tournament|2021 SEA Games]]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
22 May 202216:001–1 Bronze medal match25,589
22 May 202219:001–0Gold medal match39,898

[2022 AFF Championship]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
27 December 202219:303–0Group Stage17,545
3 January 202319:303–0Group Stage11,575
9 January 202319:302–0 Semi-Final second leg23,989
13 January 202319:302–2Final first leg38,539

[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round]

DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
21 November 202319:000–1Group F20,568
26 March 202419:000–3Group F27,832
6 June 202419:003–2Group F11,568

Controversies

2010 fireworks explosion

At approximately 11:40 local time on October 6, 2010, an explosion occurred at the stadium. The cause was confirmed to be the ignition of two firework containers due to negligence in the installation of their detonation position; this was a rehearsal for a programme commemorating the millennial anniversary of the establishment of Thăng Long, which was scheduled to be held on October 10. The explosion killed four people and injured three.

Deteriorating pitch quality and equipment

2021 and SEA Games 31

Since the second half of 2021, criticism had been raised regarding the quality of the pitch and facilities at the stadium. In September 2021, 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 Mỹ Đình pitch to a "cow pasture". According to the Lao Động newspaper, the stadium's turf had not been renovated for nearly a decade. In addition, some areas of the stadium had fallen into disrepair due to lack of maintenance. At the request of the Asian Football Confederation, the stadium was renovated by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ahead of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the 2021 Southeast Asian Games. Ahead of the 2021 SEA Games, the Vietnamese government granted more than to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to repair the stadium alongside the wider National Sports Complex. However, the replacement of the turf was not carried out. Up until the third-place match and the final of the men's football event at the 2021 SEA Games, the turf had been damaged due to the installation of the stage for the opening ceremony.

Vietnam–Borussia Dortmund friendly match incident

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.

2022 AFF Cup

Criticism of the stadium's condition continued throughout 2022 and 2023. Ahead of the 2022 AFF Cup, the Vietnam Football Federation signed a contract with the National Sports Complex to rent Mỹ Đình as the home stadium of the Vietnamese national team. The rental fee for each match of the Vietnamese national team is, the highest in the venue's history. However, the stadium's turf was described as old, faded, and poor, while not all of its seats had been replaced since their initial installation in 2003. According to the Hanoi Tax Department, the National Sports Complex owed in taxes as of 2023.
According to the Director General of the General Department of Physical Education and Sports, Đặng Hà Việt, maintenance and care work had been carried out regularly in the past month, but the city's weather conditions had made the stadium's pitch not as green as expected. Moreover, the AFC had assessed that the Mỹ Đình pitch is still in good condition for competition. However, the claim that the pitch's deterioration was due to weather conditions was considered baseless, as the pitch was described to be of good quality when the Vietnamese national team hosted China in the third round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in early 2023.
On January 4, 2023, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính commented on the condition of the stadium, questioning the claim that it was not being exploited. In an effort to address the deteriorating condition ahead of the Vietnam–Indonesia match on January 9, the Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng on January 6 requested the Rector of Bắc Ninh University of Physical Education to organize a volunteer activity in which its students would clean up the stadium.