Largest stadiums in Africa; Johannesburg to Kinshasa

Africa is home to some of football’s greatest talents even though the continent’s most talented rarely play in front of their brothers and sisters except during international matches. Regardless, the continent is home to some of the largest stadiums in the world. And with Morocco set to become Africa’s second-ever host of the FIFA World Cup, we may yet see some marvellous sports infrastructure spring up in the continent.

Today, our list centres on some of the existing facilities that can house the largest number of spectators. These stadiums hold large volumes of spectators and can sometimes create intimidating environments for opposing teams.  So which countries are hosts to Africa’s Maracana even if the Brazilian icon no longer holds the record?

FNB Stadium, South Africa

Talk about largest stadiums in Africa and many will not mention three without mentioning the iconic Soccer City. Built over three years beginning in 1986, FNB Stadium in Johannesburg holds the record as the largest stadium in Africa. It is home to Kaizer Chiefs and the South African National Team, Bafana Bafana. The gorgeous behemoth is home to Nelson Mandela’s first speech in the City of Johannesburg when he was released from prison.

FNB Stadium has a capacity of 94,736 though it was allowed up to 84,490 during the 2010 FIFA World Cup due to reserved seating for VIP. The stadium has hosted iconic matches including the 1996 AFCON opener between South Africa and Cameroon, the quarter-finals between South Africa and Algeria and the Bafana Bafana’s 3-0 win over the Black Stars of Ghana in the semi-final. It ultimately hosted the final between South Africa and Tunisia which saw the host won their first and only continental championship title. In 2010, FNB Stadium hosted the World Cup opening match between South Africa and Mexico, Ghana’s historic quarter-final clash with Uruguay and the final between the Netherlands and Spain.

Misr Stadium, Egypt

Misr Stadium in Egypt also known as the New Administrative Capital Stadium located in the Olympic City is the second largest stadium in Africa. The mega stadium has a seating capacity of 93,940 and was developed as part of Egypt’s International Olympic City. Construction work began in 2019 and it was completed four years later in 2023 and inaugurated a year later in March 2024.

Egypt hosted New Zealand in an international friendly to officially launch the stadium. The stadium hosted a record 85,350 when Egypt played Croatia in the FIFA Series: Egypt, also known as the ACUD International Football Cup in March 2024.

Borg El Arab Stadium, Egypt

Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria is the third largest stadium in Africa. Also known as Egyptian Army Stadium or El Geish Stadium – Alexandria, the stadium has a maximum capacity of 86,0oo seatings. Its highest match attendance saw it full to 100 per cent capacity.

Borg El Arab Stadium is the home stadium of the Egyptian national team alongside the Cairo International Stadium. It also hosts Smouha and selected matches of Al Ahly and Al Ittihad. Apart from the stadium’s enormous size, it also has two sub-stadiums which each can host a maximum of 2,000 spectators. These mini-stadiums are purposely built for training.

Stade des Martyrs de la Pentecôte, DR Congo

Stade des Martyrs, formerly known as Stade Kamanyola is the national stadium of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is based in Kinshasa and hosts the Leopards; the Congolese national football team. Built in 1993, the 80,000-capacity seater stadium apart from hosting the national team also hosts AS Vita and Daring Club Motema Pembe.

The stadium was renamed to Stade des Martyrs de la Pentecôte to honour four ministers who were purged by Mobutu Sese Seko. Évariste Kimba, Jérôme Anany, Emmanuel Bamba, and Alexandre Mahamba were hanged at the stadium’s site on June 2, 1966. Though the stadium has a maximum capacity of 80,000, over 120,000 fans thronged to the stadium in October 2022 when musician Fally Ipupa held a concert at the venue.

Cairo International Stadium, Egypt

We make a short trip back to North Africa, specifically in Egypt but this time straight to Cairo. The Cairo International Stadium in Egypt is the third Egyptian stadium to feature in today’s list of the largest stadiums in Africa. However, it is not just among the largest stadiums in the continent but home to the most successful national team in Africa,  the Pharaohs of Egypt. Formerly called the Nasser Stadium, the Olympic standard stadium was completed in 1960 and commissioned by President Gamal Abd El Nasser. Though it was originally an 85,000-seater stadium, there are reports that the stadium in 1969 nearly doubled its capacity when it hosted 130,000 fans. The capacity was reduced only reduced to 75,000 during renovations for the 2006 AFCON.

In 2006, 74,100 supporters watched Egypt beat Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties to win the African Cup of Nations. Thirteen years later, it hosted another AFCON final as Algeria beat Senegal 1-0 to win the 2019 AFCON in front of 75,000 spectators.

Well, this list is not exclusive and may be updated later to include the top 10 but for now, here are the largest stadiums in Africa. These stadiums each have a unique history behind them but our focus today is on their seating capacity.