The National Arena () is a retractable roof football stadium in Bucharest, Romania. It opened in 2011 on the site of the original National Stadium, which was demolished between 2007 and 2008. The stadium hosts major football matches including home matches of the Romania National Football Team, and usually Romanian Cup Final. With 55,634 seats, it is the largest stadium in Romania.
Designed by Gerkan, Marg and Partners, the stadium was built by Max Bögl and Astaldi firms. The stadium has a retractable roof which covers the playing surface.
In addition to Romania home games and the Romanian Cup final, the stadium also hosts other major games in Romanian football, including the season-opening Supercupa României. A UEFA category four stadium, the National Arena hosted the 2012 UEFA Europa League final, and four games at UEFA Euro 2020 (including the Round of 16 match between France and Switzerland, ended in a 3–3 draw, with Switzerland defeating France 5–4 at penalties).
The stadium has also been used as the venue for The International 2021, the annual Dota 2 world championship event that still holds the Guinness World Records for the largest Esports prize pool for a single tournament ($40,018,195). Arena Națională has hosted concerts by Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode, and Ed Sheeran.
On 15 September 2026, the UEFA Executive Committee officially designated the Arena Națională as the host venue for the 2028 UEFA Europa League final, scheduled to be played on 17 May 2028. The selection marks the second time the stadium will organize the competition's final act, 16 years after hosting the historic 2012 UEFA Europa League final between Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao.
The Arena Națională is currently the home ground of FCSB, the biggest brand in Romanian football. FC Dinamo București also plays some selected matches at the Arena Națională.
Construction The old stadium was demolished between 18 December 2007 and 20 February 2008, although a symbolic removal of seats took place on 21 November 2007, after Romania defeated Albania 6–1 in a qualifying match for Euro 2008.
The construction phase generated some controversy over costs and delays, with Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu claiming that the works were 20 weeks behind schedule in May 2009. On 8 October 2009, it was decided that the stadium should also include a retractable roof worth €20,000,000.
Construction was temporarily halted in December 2009 due to unfavorable weather conditions.
Facilities The venue holds 55,634 people. 3,600 VIP seats are available, with another 126 seats allotted for the press (with a possible expansion to 548 seats). The stadium includes some 360 restrooms and a retractable roof, which can be opened or closed in 15 minutes. It is also endowed with a floodlight system and 2100 parking spaces. The stadium is also very similar to the Kazimierz Górski National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, in terms of age, capacity and the roof.
Usage The National Stadium is a Category 4 venue and as such, it hosted the UEFA Europa League 2011–12 final, as announced by UEFA at Nyon on 29 January 2009. It was required to host at least two major events beginning in July 2011, one with an attendance of 10,000 and the second with an attendance of at least 40,000.
The stadium also hosted The International 2021, the annual world championship for the video game Dota 2, in October 2021. This came after the original hosts, Sweden, did not classify esports as a sporting event, making it more difficult for players to procure visas to the country.
History
The official inauguration was initially scheduled for 10 August 2011, and was to feature a football match between Romania and Argentina. However, on 26 July, Argentina officially cancelled the friendly match after their manager Sergio Batista departed the team.
The stadium was inaugurated on 6 September 2011, with a UEFA Euro 2012 Group D qualifier match between Romania and France. In the front of 49,137 fans, Romania and France drew 0–0. The result meant that Romania lost any chance of qualifying for the tournament, hosted by neighbours Ukraine and Poland.
Notable attendances The highest audience for a football match was achieved at an exhibition game between Romania's "Golden Generation" and the "World Stars" team, ended with a 3–2 score, which brought 54.967 spectators at the stadium. It was the retirement match of arguably the best Romanian national team ever.
The second highest audience for a football game was achieved at the Liga 1 football match between FCSB and CFR Cluj hosted on 11 May 2024, which brought 54,673 people to the stadium.
Another large audience was hosted at the UEFA Europa League final on 9 May 2012. The game between the two Spanish teams, Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, brought 52,347 people to the stadium.Atlético Madrid-Athletic Bilbao
Another match with a notable audience was between Romania and Switzerland on 21 November 2023, in the qualifying stage of the UEFA Euro 2024 final tournament. With 50,224 people in the stands, Romania won 1–0, thus making it the winner of Group I and giving it a place in Pot 2 for the final tournament in Germany.
Association football
International football clubs matchesDateCompetitionHomeAwayScoreAttendance27 September 2011UEFA Champions League Oțelul Galați Benfica0–16,82429 September 2011UEFA Europa League Rapid București PSV Eindhoven1–321,32018 October 2011UEFA Champions League Oțelul Galați Manchester United0–228,04720 October 2011UEFA Europa League Rapid București Legia Warsaw0–113,7263 November 2011UEFA Europa League FCSB Maccabi Haifa4–231,23322 November 2011UEFA Champions League Oțelul Galați Basel2–35,79730 November 2011UEFA Europa League Rapid București Hapoel Tel Aviv1–34,52914 December 2011 FCSB AEK Larnaca3–150,05116 February 2012 Twente0–149,5889 May 2012UEFA Europa League final Atlético Madrid Athletic Bilbao3–052,3472 August 2012UEFA Europa League FCSB Spartak Trnava0–123,4949 August 2012 Rapid București Heerenveen1–01,92823 August 2012 Dinamo București Metalist Kharkiv0–214,8004 October 2012 FCSB Copenhagen1–048,69425 October 2012 Molde2–043,65122 November 2012 Stuttgart1–550,44521 February 2013 Ajax2–0 (4–2 p.)35,4237 March 2013 Chelsea1–050,01611 July 2013UEFA Europa League Astra Giurgiu Domžale2–01,51316 July 2013UEFA Champions League FCSB Vardar1–040,72518 July 2013UEFA Europa League Astra Giurgiu Omonia1–12,1646 August 2013UEFA Champions League FCSB Dinamo Tbilisi1–144,2258 August 2013UEFA Europa League Astra Giurgiu Trenčín2–21,44021 August 2013UEFA Champions League FCSB Legia Warsaw1–152,3031 October 2013 Chelsea0–436,71322 October 2013 Basel1–123,89926 November 2013 Schalke 040–050,63323 July 2014UEFA Champions League FCSB Strømsgodset2–018,0436 August 2014 Aktobe2–124,38619 August 2014 Ludogorets Razgrad1–035,34218 September 2014UEFA Europa League FCSB AaB6–0023 October 2014 Rio Ave2–115,75311 December 2014 Dynamo Kyiv0–27,62022 July 2015UEFA Champions League FCSB Trenčín2–30 29 July 2015 Partizan1–120 August 2015UEFA Europa League FCSB Rosenborg0–321,2043 August 2016UEFA Champions League FCSB Sparta Prague2–037,12716 August 2016 Manchester City0–545,32715 September 2016UEFA Europa League Astra Giurgiu Austria Wien2–33,30029 September 2016 FCSB Villarreal1–113,23120 October 2016 Zürich1–113,1543 November 2016 Astra Giurgiu Viktoria Plzeň1–11,45024 November 2016 FCSB Osmanlıspor2–16,0208 December 2016 Astra Giurgiu Roma0–07,10025 July 2017UEFA Champions League FCSB Viktoria Plzeň2–233,79527 July 2017UEFA Europa League Dinamo București Athletic Bilbao1–126,78323 August 2017UEFA Champions League FCSB Sporting CP1–549,22014 September 2017UEFA Europa League FCSB Viktoria Plzeň3–020,7142 November 2017 Hapoel Be'er Sheva1–127,1347 December 2017 Lugano1–213,23115 February 2018 Lazio1–033,4552 August 2018UEFA Europa League FCSB Rudar Velenje4–07,03016 August 2018 Hajduk Split2–127,41030 August 2018 Rapid Wien2–131,27427 August 2020UEFA Europa League FCSB Shirak3–0023 February 2021UEFA Champions League Atlético Madrid Chelsea0–1022 July 2021UEFA Europa Conference League FCSB Shakhter Karagandy1–05,81228 July 2022UEFA Europa Conference League FCSB Saburtalo Tbilisi4–225,22811 August 2022 FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda1–040,45718 August 2022 Viking FK1–230,13415 September 2022 Anderlecht0–029,61313 October 2022 Silkeborg0–59,1033 November 2022 West Ham0–320,17226 September 2024UEFA Europa League FCSB FK RFS4–134,2577 November 2024 FC Midtjylland2–037,15228 November 2024 Olympiacos0–043,57230 January 2025 Manchester United0–250,12820 February 2025 PAOK2–050,2486 March 2025 Olympique Lyon1–353,02830 July 2025UEFA Champions League FCSB KF Shkendija1–232,4577 August 2025 UEFA Europa League FCSB FC Drita3–213,82528 August 2025 Aberdeen3–035,3412 October 2025 Young Boys0–225.05623 October 2025 Bologna1–227.64311 December 2025 Feyenoord4–322.85729 January 2026 Fenerbahçe
Notes
Romania national football team matches On 6 September 2011, the Romania national football team, played the opening match against the French team which ended with a goalless draw, after Argentina cancelled the official inauguration, a friendly match between Romania and Argentina on 10 August 2011.
NrCompetitionDateOpponentAttendanceResultScorers for Romania1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying 6 September 2011 49,137 0–0 –2 7 October 2011 29,846 2–2 2 x Adrian Mutu3 Friendly 29 February 2012 15,000 1–1 Bogdan Stancu4 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 11 September 2012 24,630 4–0 Gabriel Torje, Costin Lazăr, Valerică Găman, Alexandru Maxim5 16 October 2012 53,329 1–4 Ciprian Marica6 Friendly 14 November 2012 5,000 2–1 Alexandru Maxim, Gabriel Torje7 Friendly 4 June 2013 10,128 4–0 3 x Ciprian Marica8 Friendly 14 August 2013 6,738 1–1 Bogdan Stancu9 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 6 September 2013 41,405 3–0 Ciprian Marica, Mihai Pintilii, Cristian Tănase10 10 September 2013 44,357 0–2 –11 15 October 2013 18,852 2–0 2 x Ciprian Marica12 19 November 2013 49,793 1–1 –13 Friendly 5 March 2014 45,034 0–0 –14 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying 11 October 2014 50,085 1–1 Raul Rusescu15 14 November 2014 28,892 2–0 2 x Paul Papp16 Friendly 18 November 2014 10,000 2–0 2 x Claudiu Keșerü17 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying 7 September 2015 38,153 0–0 –18 8 October 2015 47,987 1–1 Ovidiu Hoban19 Friendly 3 June 2016 27,937 5–1 Adrian Popa, Nicolae Stanciu, Gabriel Torje, Claudiu Keșerü20 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification 11 November 2016 48,531 0–3 –21 1 September 2017 27,178 1–0 Alexandru Maxim22 Friendly 14 November 2017 26,000 0–3 –23 2018–19 UEFA Nations League 14 October 2018 48,513 0–0 –24 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying 5 September 2019 50,024 1–2 Florin Andone25 15 October 2019 29,854 1–1 Alexandru Mitriță26 15 November 2019 49,678 0–2 –27 2020–21 UEFA Nations League 4 September 2020 0 1–1 George Pușcaș28 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 25 March 2021 0 3–2 Florin Tănase, Valentin Mihăilă, Ianis Hagi29 28 March 2021 0 0–1 –30 5 September 2021 9,404 2–0 Alin Toșca, Cristian Manea31 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 28 March 2023 27,837 2–1 Andrei Burcă, Nicolae Stanciu32 9 September 2023 49,123 1–1 Denis Alibec33 12 September 2023 29,982 2–0 Nicolae Stanciu, Valentin Mihăilă34 15 October 2023 21,723 4–0 Nicolae Stanciu, Ianis Hagi, Răzvan Marin, Florinel Coman35 21 November 2023 50,2241–0 Denis Alibec36 Friendly 22 March 2024 30,439 1–1 Dennis Man37 2024–25 UEFA Nations League 15 November 2024 48,957 3–0 –38 18 November 2024 45,318 4–1 Daniel Bîrligea, 2 x Răzvan Marin, Florinel Coman 39 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 21 March 2025 49,413 0–1 –40 10 June 2025 43,524 2–0 Dennis Man, Florin Tănase 41 Friendly 5 September 2025 29,1250–3 –42 Friendly 9 October 2025 11,2322–1 Louis Munteanu, Ianis Hagi 43 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 12 October 2025 39,581 1–0 Virgil Ghiță44 2026–27 UEFA Nations League 28 September 2026 0 2–4 Daniel Bîrligea, Alexandru Cicâldău45 5 October 2026 49,426 0–1 –46 14 November 2026 –