THE STADIUM
Name: Nemesio Camacho, “El Campin”
Address: Avenida Notre-Quito Sur (NQS) con Calle 57, Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia
Opened: 1938
Last renovation: 2007
Total capacity: 41,724
Covered: 20%
Home teams: Millonarios, Independiente Santa Fe, Colombian national teams
Internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_El_Camp%C3%ADn

In world football, the name Guiilermo Velasquez is not a particularly portentous one. Even a search in the annals of football under his nickname, El Chato (Spanish for snub-nosed), is unlikely to yield any results. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, by contrast, is the name of die person who is perhaps the most admired in the history of the beautiful game, although he is better known by his own nickname, Pele, which may have been meaningless at first, but went on to become synonymous with football at its most sublime.
Valasquez and Pele’s paths crossed on Wednesday, 17 July 1968, when Brazilian club Santos, then considered the best in the world, played a friendly match against the Colombian national side in Bogota as part of the Colombians’ preparations for the Olympic Games in Mexico. Velazquez was a Colombian referee born in Pcreira, a former boxer who was not afraid to respond in kind when players reacted to his decisions with punches and kicks. The other was a global superstar whom all the spectators had come to see. Thirty-five minutes into the match, El Chato sent off “The King”, who had complained to the referee for not awarding his side a penalty. Pele left the field shouting that the referee was mad.
The 50,000 fans then subjected the official to a barrage of insults. How dare he send off Pele, the man they had paid to see! This prompted executives from the Colombian football association to take an unusual and unique decision in the history of football – they ordered Pele to return to the field and Velasquez to leave it … so in the end it was the referee who was sent off!
THE “EL DORADO” ERA
This most singular event took place at the Nemesio Camacho stadium, El Campin, one of the epicentres of Colombian and South American football, which celebrated its 70th anniversary on 10 August. The stadium was built in 1938 for the first ever Bolivarian Games, a kind of mini-Olympics between Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Panama and Colombia that since then have been held every four years. The completion of the stadium was also to tie in with the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the Colombian capital.
The stadium site was donated to the city by the Camacho Matiz family on two conditions: that it be used to build the stadium and that the arena bear the name of the father of the Camacho dynasty, Nemesio Camacho. The site was formerly an estate called El Campin, a name derived from the English word “camping”, as people used to go there to spend an afternoon in the countryside.
With an initial capacity of 23,500, the stadium was inaugurated with a match between Ecuador and Colombia. The first goal was scored by Colombia’s Tomas Emilio Mier. The first team to win a match at El Campin, however, was Ecuador, who came back to win 2-1. Eleven years later, in December 1949, the club Millonarios began to make their own history by winning the second Colombian professional league championship and performing a lap of honour at El Campin. This marked the beginning of an era known as El Dorado, duringwhich Millonarios, who boasted players such as Alfredo di Stefimo and Adolfo Pedernera, were considered the best team in the wotld in the 1950s.
After being renovated and enlarged on several occasions, some historians claim that El Campin’s capacity rose to as much as 60,200 in 1968, the year after floodlights were first installed.
AN IMPORTANT VICTORY
The Colombian national team have played most of their matches in FIFA World Cup preliminary competitions at El Campin. The arena was also a venue for the 1971 Pan American Gaines and hosted the qualifying tournaments for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
El Campin also witnessed the first-ever Colombian triumph in the Copa Liberiadores when Atletico National de Medellin beat Olimpia Asuncion on penalties in 1989. The arena also hosted the 1996 Copa CONMEBOL final between Santa Fe and Lanus as well as the Copa Merconorte finals of 1999 (Santa Fe v. America de Cali), 2000 (Millonarios v. Atletlco National) and 2001 (Millonarios v. Emelec).
However, the most significant sporting moment in the history of El Campin was in 2001 when Colombia, under the charge of Francisco Maturana, won their first and thus far only Copa America after defeating Mexico 1-0 with a goal from captain Ivan Cordoba.
El Campin also drew in a multitude of young people for Pope John Paul Us visit in 1986 as well as thousands of music fans for concerts by artists as varied as Luciano Pavarotti, Guns N’ Roses, ranchero singer Vicente Fernandez, the Fania All-Stars, the incomparable Celia Cruz and national idol Joe Arroyo, who performed in front of 85,000 fans.
IDEA RULED OUT
The stadium’s playing surface and drainage system have been improved for the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the pitch
has been widened by one metre on each side at the request of national team coach Jorge Luis Pinto. Today, El Campin has a capacity of 41,274 and the city authorities, who own the stadium, no longer allow it to be leased for concerts in order to protect the pitch.
Following FIFAs decision to award the hosting rights for the 2011 U-20 World Cup to Colombia, the country’s vice-president, Francisco Santos, put
forward the idea of demolishing El Campin and replacing it with a new. more modern arena that satisfies all of FIFAs requirements. However, the mayor of Bogota, Samuel Moreno, rejected the idea and said that the stadium, a symbol of Colombian sport, would remain standing and would receive all the necessary care to enable it to remain as emblematic as it has been in its first 70 years of existence.

THE STADIUM
Name:Alexandria Stadium
Address:Alexandria, Egypt
Opened:1929
Last renovation: 2006
Total capacity:19,000
Covered:Approx. 10%
Home teams:El-Ittihad, El-Olympi, important national matches

When touring Egypt’s Alexandria Stadium with football officials and media reptesentatives from across the world, it is not uncommon to see looks of amazement on their faces and heat comments like “Oh, it’s a museum”. In fact, the only thing that gives Alexandria Stadium its name is a football pitch and the stands. Other than that it really could be called a museum.
Built in 1929, Alexandria Stadium is the oldest stadium in Egypt. The stadium itself is a magnificent piece of art and a combination of both Egyptian and European talents. It was built for the clubs in Alexandria, the second biggest city in Egypt after Cairo.
At that time, and in fact since the turn of the 20th century, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria had more European inhabitants than Egyptians. Greeks, Italians and Armenians mingled with the locals and lived together until they became Egyptians themselves. Thanks to the large number of immigrants who have called the city their home over the last few centuries, Alexandrian society has always been a mix of diverse cultures. This has created a strong Mediterranean ambiance that is clearly embodied in the distinctive architectural design of its buildings, as well as its Greek- and Italian-style restaurants, shops and coffee houses.
In 1909, Anglo Boulanaky was appointed as a member of the Egyptian Olympic committee. He was ambitious enough to think of bringing the Olympic Games to Egypt in 1916. That did not happen, but it gave birth to the idea of building a stadium that could host both football and athletics events. After selecting the venue, Boulanaky made his proposal to the council of Alexandria, which agreed and appointed its best architect, W. Nicohosoff Bey, in 1911. Sadly, the cost of the stadium was so high that the city council could not afford to build it alone.
Eight years later, in 1919, there was a flood of donations from the Sultan of Egypt, from Prince Omar Touson, from the city council of Alexandtia and from Boulanaky, too. A committee was formed and construction finally began in October 1921. It took almost eight years for the stadium to be inaugurated in a huge celebration witnessed by members of the Egyptian royal family as an Alexandrian team beat a squad from Cairo in the opening match.
COPY IN LOS ANGELES
The stadium boasts ten gates, including Gate 6, also known as “the marathon gate”. According to Ibrahim El-Gewini, a legendary football player, referee and official, the marathon gate of Los Angeles’ Memorial Coliseum is a replica of the marathon gate of Alexandria Stadium.
Part of the arena is the main wall of Alexandria that once surrounded the city. Every time there were new extensions and building projects in the city, part of the wall would be pulled down. When the stadium was being built, the plan was to take down the rest of the wall, but in the end it was decided that part should be preserved as it belonged to the history of the city. As such, spectators attending matches at the stadium can almost feel the history and the era of Alexander the Great whenever they see the wall to the left of the main stand and the first-class area.
After its inauguration, the 22,000-capacity stadium was criticised for being too luxurious and expensive at a time when the world was suffering from the Great Depression. But the money was put to good use. The second floor of the stadium had a gorgeous royal lounge to host the king and members of the royal family who used to attend matches. The stairs leading to the royal lounge were similar to those found in Egyptian royal palaces. The royal lounge walls
… and as it looked then.
are painted white with designs in gold and it also boasts golden French salons. Nowadays, this royal lounge is only opened for VIPs and top state officials. During the latest renovation work in 2006, the royal lounge was repainted but everything else remained the same. A further extension to the stadium led to an indoor complex for basketball, volleyball, handball and the martial arts being built for the 1951 Mediterranean Games in Alexandria.
CAPACITY DECREASED
Alexandria Stadium is home to the clubs El-Ittihad and at times El-Oiympi in the national league and cup matches. It has also hosted many international matches and football events involving the national team as well as some first-round matches in the 1986 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) and another game in the 2006 CAN.
The stadium has a grass pitch and two dressing rooms for teams, who access the pitch through underground tunnels. There are rooms for referees, doping control, media conferences and a working area. The radio and TV commentators’ boxes are located on the second floor of the stadium and all were recently renovated. When the stadium was renovated for the 2006 CAN, the capacity was decreased from 22,000 to 19,000 as seats replaced benches.
Officials are now working on studying ways of increasing the capacity of the stadium, perhaps even building upper tiers so the stadium can be used for international events once again. All will depend on whether the infrastructure can sustain additional tiers.

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Marseille 2008 confirmed that the sport’s success is set to continue far beyond its birthplace on the Copacabana beach. Nevertheless, this did not prevent the Brazilians from retaining their championship crown.
At first sight, the scene appeared to be an exact repeat of the last two years, with caprain Junior Negao radiating his unmistakable smile as he lifted the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup trophy for the third year in succession. Yet there was a lot more to
the tournament than mere confirmation of Brazil’s global supremacy on sand. The fourth ever Beach Soccer World Cup was the first to be held away from its birthplace on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach and the unqualified success of the ten-day event on Marseille’s El Prado beach has served notice of the fact that the sport is entering a new era.
“I know I should be rather used to this because it’s the third time in a row, but it really does feel as if it were the first time,” enthused 44-year-old Junior Negao, who also announced chat this would be his last World Cup. “It was absolutely fantastic to play in a World Cup outside Brazil, for us, because we were able to win the tournament despite not having out fans there to support us, and above all for the sport in general. I have made my living from beach soccer for the last 15 years, since the sport’s early days, and it makes me proud to play on another continent in a stadium that is full every day. The sport has made tremendous progress, which is why it is a credit to us that we are still world champions.”
CLOSER EVERY TIME
The Brazilians’ ability to fly over the sand once again did the business, but no one can claim that it was an easy ride. Three times the Cnnarinha found themselves on the ropes and on the verge of losing their incredible unbeaten record, which started after the 2005 Beach Soccer World Cup. They were provided with one of their sternest tests in the opening match against Spain, which they went on to win 3-2. After topping their group, Alexandre Soares’s charges then suffered in the face of Russian goalkeeper Audrey Bukhlirskiys heroics and the opportunism of Egor Shaykov.
For a long time the Russians were on top in their match against the world
champions before a hat trick by Daniel inspired the Brazilians to a 6-4 victory. Then came Portugal in the semi-finals, Brazil’s historical rivals and the team responsible for Brazil’s last defeat in the semi-finals of the 2005 World Cup. With their offensive trio of Madjer, Belchior and Alan looking sharper than ever, the Portuguese showed signs of repeating their trick of three years ago, but it was not to be. With Buru suspended, it was up to his supposed stand-ins to settle the match. This time it was Andre who scored a hat trick, tying the match at four apiece before Bruno scored the winner. Relieved and
confident after seeing off these challenges, Brazil went into the final with a renewed aura of invincibility.
Surprise package Italy, for whom Pasquali, Palmacci and Feudi had performed so impressively, were powerless against their opponents in the first two periods, in which braces for Bruno and Sidney saw Brazil gallop to a 4-0 lead. It was then a case of too little too late for the Squadra Azzurra, as the match ended 5-3, thus signalling a triumphant end to what had been Brazil’s trickiest campaign to date.
HIGH QUALITY
“To be honest, I thought Portugal were even better than the Brazilians. We had the tournament’s best attack and also the highest goalscorer in Madjer, who has topped the scoring charts in three of the last four World Cups. The only difference
with respect to Brazil is the quality of the players coming off the bench. You never know if the decisive player is going to be Benjamin, Bum, Andre, Daniel or Bruno. But there is no longer a noticeable difference in terms of talent. There is talent everywhere,” says Portugal’s Belchior, who won the adidas Bronze Ball and Bronze Shoe.
Indeed, the only Brazilian to win an individual award was the magical Benjamin, who won the Silver Ball. Meanwhile, fourth-placed Spain’s absence on the podium was made up for by the recognition that was showered upon their star players. Roberto Valeiro was voted Goalkeeper of the tournament and picked up the adidas Golden Glove – the first time such a trophy has been awarded at a FIFA competition – while Ramiro Amarelle delighted Marseille with his seemingly endless repertoire of overhead kicks. Despite suffering from the curse of star players who miss decisive penalty kicks (in the semi-final against Italy), he still picked up the Golden Ball for best player.
BETTER THAN EVER
Also worthy of mention is the quality of the players from countries who were less successful in the tournament, such as Senegalese giant Pape Koukpaki or skilful James Naka of the Solomon Islands – both of whom scored a total of eight goals in their countries’ three group-stage matches. “The standard of the teams is better than ever. In every single game there was at least one phenomenal player,” said France coach Eric Cantona, whose charges gained first-hand experience of the general increase in ability. Despite winning the tournament in 2005 and reaching the semi-finals on the last two occasions, the French were unable to exploit home advantage, losing in the quarter-finals to Italy, who had never previously got further than the group stage.
Safe in the knowledge that beach soccer’s appeal is certainly not restricted to Brazil, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup can now look forward to the next challenge: Dubai 2009. “It will be new for everyone and will no doubt serve as another platform for the sport’s development,” says three-time World Cup-winning coach Alexandre Soares. Having left its home on the Atlantic, beach soccer has now left its mark on the Mediterranean and is set to make a similar impression on the Gulf. With every year that passes, the sport reaffirms its potential to become a truly global game, even if the championship crown continues to belong to Brazil.