FIFA FOOTBALL STADIUMS GUIDELINES
1. FOREWORD FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear football friends,
The football stadium is the magical place where players and fans come together to celebrate our beloved sport, and where legends, memories and iconic moments are created. It is, in essence, where football lives.
In these peculiar times marked by the global pandemic, the world has realised just how vital the interaction between players and fans is to the fabric of our game. In fact, and despite the emergence of new technologies, the desire of people to come together and watch their beloved teams and sporting events through a shared experience is stronger than ever.
In some parts of the world, there is a strong culture of constructing and renovating great purpose-built football stadiums. Under FIFA’s vision of making football truly global, however, we want to ensure that the best practices and infrastructure are not confined to and concentrated in a few countries.
This publication has been produced for this very reason, and the series of guidelines can be applied at any level and in any region, rather than focusing narrowly on large stadiums for big events. We have made it our obligation to provide practical and flexible advice to facilitate the development of football infrastructure, with the stadium at its heart, around the world.
« IN OUR EFFORTS TO MAKE FOOTBALL TRULY GLOBAL, THESE FIFA FOOTBALL STADIUMS GUIDELINES ARE A CORNERSTONE TO REALISE OUR VISION. »
The guidelines also take account of the world beyond football and our wider responsibility to local communities and to the environment. Stadium developments should be in tune with local realities, and FIFA has taken care to list, in greater detail than ever before, the range of sustainability factors that need to be taken into account, as these should be a fundamental consideration in any project.
In our efforts to make football truly global, these FIFA Football Stadiums Guidelines are a cornerstone to realise our vision.
Yours in football,
Gianni Infantino
II. BACKGROUND
MAKING FOOTBALL TRULY GLOBAL: THE VISION 2020-2023 was launched by FIFA in 2020. It set out 11 goals to be delivered, including maximising FIFA’s impact on global football development.
Within that goal, FIFA recognises the importance of developing football infrastructure and particularly the role of the stadium at the heart of the football community. Our task is to ensure that at least one stadium in the territories of each of our 211 member associations is developed in accordance with FIFA standards.
But what are these FIFA standards?
FIFA is known for organising a wide range of tournaments, from the grandest and most iconic on the planet through to competitions showcasing the talents of the younger age groups.
Each tournament has its own detailed infrastructure requirements, with the stadium always the centrepiece.
It is eleven years since FIFA last produced some generic stadium guidance in the form of the 5th edition of Football Stadiums: Technical Recommendations and Requirements. Whilst this has been well used throughout the industry, it focused on large stadiums and the requirements of a FIFA World Cup™ final tournament.
A new framework of standards is now required that can be applied to different sizes of stadiums and can support the ongoing core needs of football communities.
III. PURPOSE
The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a global benchmark for football stadiums. Any football stadium development, anywhere in the world and at any level, can use this document to find best-practice guidance for their own project.
It is vital that these guidelines facilitate sustainable football infrastructure development in every aspect, be it environmental, social or economic.
Many of these guidelines will apply to all football stadiums, however, in order to recognise the different sizes and individual circumstances of each stadium, we have introduced five categories of stadiums. This is designed to ensure that these guidelines can be applied across a range of projects and budgets. We are particularly keen to guard against the overprovision and overspecification of football stadiums, which is a risk of any one-size-fits-all approach. Some aspects of these guidelines will not apply to all stadiums, so in Chapter 7 we have attempted to show how these guidelines can be applied to different sizes of stadiums.
Whilst these guidelines are aimed at football stadiums, we also recognise that, in many circumstances, a stadium needs to be used in other ways to make sure that the project is sustainable. Therefore, the multi-use aspects of stadium design and operations are also considered.
These guidelines are also designed to support the ongoing, regular staging of football matches rather than just the hosting of any FIFA tournament or other competition. Each FIFA tournament has its own set of detailed infrastructure requirements, which are disseminated as part of the bidding process for each tournament.
Whilst some of these requirements rely on core, permanent stadium infrastructure, others are achieved through the adaptation of existing infrastructure and/or the installation of temporary overlay facilities. We have therefore deliberately excluded such tournament requirements from these guidelines. Section 2.9 provides guidance on how to future-proof as part of the design process, and it also covers the concept of overlay and the role it plays in the hosting of tournaments.
IV. FRAMEWORK
There are two key parts to these guidelines. Together they clarify, standardise and promote a set of global stadium standards that will be accessible to and practical for all.
PART 1: GENERAL PROCESS GUIDELINES
This part is made up of the first four chapters, which focus on the processes of stadium development, from early initiation and feasibility considerations (Chapter 1) through design (Chapter 2) and construction (Chapter 3), and finally to the operational aspects of stadiums from their opening to regular maintenance programmes (Chapter 4). These early chapters can be viewed as How to... guidelines.
PART 2: TECHNICAL GUIDELINES
This part can be regarded as the What? guidelines. It comprises the main, larger aspects of stadium requirements (Chapter 5), before moving on to the spaces owned by various main users and groups (Chapter 6). Finally, Chapter 7 provides guidance on the application of these guidelines to different sizes or categories of stadiums.
V. APPLICATION OF THESE GUIDELINES
These FIFA Stadium Guidelines are best-practice guidelines for the football community. FIFA is not able to assess their compatibility with every stadium project, and nor can it evaluate the circumstances of every project. This is therefore not a prescriptive set of requirements and regulations.
They could, however, act as a reference point, and FIFA will also be encouraging confederations and member associations to use these guidelines as a reference point when guiding and assessing stadium infrastructure matters.
VI. WHO SHOULD READ THESE GUIDELINES
These guidelines are intended for use by the whole football community:
• Owners, operators and users of existing football stadiums should use them to benchmark current facilities and operations and to inform any future development projects.
• Confederations and FIFA member associations should use them for guiding and assessing any stadium infrastructure projects and when setting standards for competitions and other activities within their jurisdiction.
• Authorities involved in the licensing, certification and monitoring of football stadiums should refer to them.
• Individual club organisations, particularly at professional or elite development level, should use them to inform their own stadium requirements.
• Key suppliers and contractors to football stadium development projects and ongoing stadium operations should also refer to them.
• Any key stakeholders in new stadium projects, including municipal authorities, stadium owners, architects and other key members of the stadium project team should use them so that they are familiar with the game’s latest standards and best practices and can incorporate them into their own projects.
Member associations and other stakeholders involved in bidding for FIFA tournaments can also use these guidelines as a reference point for assessing the suitability of stadiums in the early stages of their process. It is important to note that the stadiums included in any bid will always be assessed against the specific tournament requirements outlined in that bidding process.
VII. WORKING GROUP AND CONTRIBUTORS
Guidelines of this scope cannot be produced without the involvement of a strong interdisciplinary team and contributors with a range of expertise.
FIFA would like to extend its gratitude to the following people and organisations who contributed to these guidelines:
FIFA WORKING GROUP
Colin Smith
Heimo Schirgi
Christian Stiegler
Kaj Heyral
Guy Smith
Kate Filochowski
Alan Ferguson
CONTRIBUTORS
ARUP
HFP
Populous
The Stadium Consultancy
iTurf
GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PRODUCTION
Jaaf Design
PHOTO CREDITS
ARUP
FIFA
Chris Gascoigne
Getty Images
Guy Smith
Hufton + Crow
James Ewing
Level Playing Field
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
Morley von Sternberg
Murray Fredericks
Olympique Lyonnais
Patrik Meyer
Populous
Singapore Sports Hub
The Stadium Consultancy