"Dolina ćupova" | |
 Grbavica Stadium -UEFA   | |
 Interactive map of Grbavica Stadium | |
| Location | Bulevar Ivice Osima 27,Grbavica,Sarajevo,Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°50′48″N18°23′14″E / 43.84667°N 18.38722°E /43.84667; 18.38722 |
| Owner | FK Željezničar Sarajevo |
| Operator | FK Željezničar Sarajevo |
| Capacity | 13,146 |
| Field size | 105 x 68 m (114.8 x 74.3 yd) |
| Surface | Hybrid grass |
| Scoreboard | LED |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1949–53 |
| Opened | 13 September 1953 |
| Renovated | 25 April 1976, 18 July 2018, 8 March 2020 |
| Expanded | 2017, 2025 (in progress) |
| Construction cost | >€2 million |
| Tenants | |
| FK Željezničar Sarajevo (1953–1968, 1976–present) Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team (2017–present, selected matches) | |
Grbavica Stadium (Bosnian:Stadion Grbavica) is located inGrbavica,Sarajevo,Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thisfootball stadium has terraces close to the pitch and it is the home stadium ofFK Željezničar Sarajevo and one of two stadiums of thenational football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The stadium has a capacity to hold 13,146 seated spectators. Grbavica Stadium is also known asDolina ćupova (en.Valley of Jars).[1]
The construction of a sporting facility—that would eventually become football-only ground—in the Sarajevo neighbourhood of Grbavica started during the late 1940s. Although the city of Sarajevo had already had several football pitches with bleachers and stands (including the freshly builtKoševo Stadium), it was decided by the Yugoslav communist authorities that resources are to be allocated towards construction of a new multi-sport facility for usage by various clubs under the umbrella of theSD Željezničar sports society. Many of the club's supporters, friends, and members, including a number ofYugoslav People's Army (JNA) personnel helped in the construction of the football ground. Unlike the construction of Koševo—a large-scale project with generous state support through funds and manpower—the construction of Grbavica had far fewer workers devoted to it and as a result took much longer to complete. A new pitch with arunning track and drainage system was built along with rudimentary concrete stands. While the ground's southern and eastern end featured concrete-built stands, the western end had wooden stands that were taken from the recently torn Marijin Dvor ground.
Grbavica began as a multi-use facility: in addition to football matches, competitions in cycling and athletics were organized. Eventually, its use became football only.
The ground was officially opened on September 13, 1953 with theYugoslav Second League western division match between Željezničar andRSD Šibenik. Željezničar won 4–1.
In late June 1968, major improvements, additions, and renovations to the ground began, forcing its closure for the following eight years.
Ironically, during this time, its main tenant FK Željezničar achieved its greatest success—winning the1971–72 Yugoslav First League title—playing its home matches away from its home ground, at cross-town rivalFK Sarajevo's Koševo Stadium. Throughout this period, the only competitive footballing contests played at Grbavica were a handful of Željezničar's European home matches, such as the1968–69 Mitropa Cupsemifinal versusSklo Union Teplice in May 1969 as well as1971–72 UEFA Cup clashes againstClub Brugge,Bologna FC, andSt Johnstone FC during fall 1971.
On April 25, 1976, Grbavica was re-opened. With 50,000 cubic meters of materials used, the additions to the venue included installation of floodlights. Furthermore, two training pitches as well as new dressing rooms, showers, and other facilities were added. The Đurasović family were the first donors.
In 1986, a proper northern stand was built. There were plans for the whole stadium to be remodeled and encircled to look like the newly built north stand, but they got shelved for the time being. As a result of the renovations, in October 1987, Yugoslavia national football team (coached at the time by Željo legendIvica Osim) played its first ever match at the stadium. In aEuro 88 qualification clash versus Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia won 3–0.
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The stadium suffered heavy structural damage during theBosnian War that broke out in 1992. The stadium was located between the first front lines and endured heavy fighting.Bosnian Serbs' forces burned the West stand wooden terraces. It was not until 1996 that a football match would be played here again. Symbolically, the first match after the war was thelocal derby. The capacity of North stands holds 5,377 seats.[2]
It was partly remodelled in following years. In 2004, 8898 seats were installed on the north and south stand and some small work was done to the terraces. The last major job done on the stadium was in 2008–09 when the floodlights were repaired. On 22 April 2009, after about 18 years, a game under floodlights was again played at Grbavica.
On Monday, 13 February 2012, a section of the roof above the west stand collapsed after 10 days of heavysnowfall. The main reason for the collapsing of the roof was the bad maintenance of the whole terrace and roof where thesnow was not removed since the first snowfall, but also the war damage on the buildings.
In 2016, the western stand held 690 seats since, while the southern stand's capacity was 3068 seats. AnLED display was also installed on the south stand.[3]
The east stand was rebuilt (an all seated stand replacing the entire East standing section) with works finishing in early April 2017. The capacity of east stands is 4650 seats.[4][5][6] The East stand was funded entirely by club supporters and local businesses.[7][8]United StatesmidfielderMix Diskerud donated funds to the project by buying 50 seats for the North stand as well as two ten year passes for East stand.[9][10] Former club managers and players the likes ofAmar Osim,Edin Džeko,Ibrahim Šehić andSemir Štilić among others, also donated.[11] Regional clubs also supported the project, with donations coming fromDinamo Zagreb.[12][13]
On 1 April 2017,Željezničar played host toSloboda Tuzla during theChampionship round of the 2016–17Premier League season and on the day the newly built Eastern Stand opened to public.
In May 2018, a new pitch with a drainage system was completed. The new pitch was replaced in July 2018.[14]
In December 2019, the construction of the new roof on the eastern stand of the stadium begun. In March 2020, the construction was finished, withŽeljezničar playing its first game with the new roof againstTuzla City on 8 March 2020.[15]
In July 2025, the renovation and expansion of the southern stand started.[16]
The stadium is situated in theGrbavica neighborhood, at the foot of Šanac Hill, which was once traversed by railway tracks of the Bosnian Eastern Railway.[17][circular reference] When trains passed near the stadium, they would blow their horns as a salute to the crowd.[18] Today, the old railway is no longer in operation. However, trolleybuses continue to run past the stadium, and visitors can also reach it via various other forms of public transportation. Additionally, the tram line runs nearby, with Socijalno station located approximately 600 meters from the stadium.
Stations nearby:
| Service | Station/Stop | Lines |
|---|---|---|
| Trolleybus | Stadion Grbavica | 101 102 103 107 |
| Tram | Socijalno | 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
By far the most notable match played at the stadium was the1984–85 UEFA Cupsemifinal return leg on Wednesday, 24 April 1985 between Željezničar and Hungarian visitorsVideoton FC fromSzékesfehérvár. Videoton brought a 1–3 advantage from the first leg, however, the home side fought valiantly in front of the raucous home crowd of 27,000 fans[19] and was 2–0 ahead on goals byEdin Bahtić in the 5th andEdin Ćurić in the 62nd minute. Just a few minutes from the end, Željo still had a result that would see it go through and take on mightyReal Madrid in the UEFA Cup final. However, disaster struck in the 87th minute when Videoton right backJózsef Csuhay was left unmarked and scored a goal for 2–1 that took his team to the final and saw Željezničar's hopes dashed in the cruelest of fashions.
Senior teams only.
| Date | Result | Competition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 October 1987 |  Yugoslavia | 3–0 |  Northern Ireland | UEFA Euro 1988 Q |
| 15 August 2001 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–0 |  Malta | Friendly |
| 27 March 2002 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–4 |  Macedonia | Friendly |
| 10 August 2010 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–1 |  Qatar | Friendly |
| 7 October 2017 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3–4 |  Belgium | 2018 FIFA World Cup Q |
| 15 October 2018 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–0 | Northern Ireland | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B |
| 23 March 2019 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–1 |  Armenia | UEFA Euro 2020 Q |
| 8 October 2020 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–1 (a.e.t.)(3–4p) | Northern Ireland | UEFA Euro 2020 Q playoffs |
| 31 March 2021 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0–1 |  France | 2022 FIFA World Cup Q |
Due to its smaller size (compared to Sarajevo's other football venue,Stadium Koševo), the stadium has seen far less music concerts held at its location. Some concerts at Stadium Grbavica were:
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| Related articles | |
