Kosevo Stadium
Kosevo Stadium is the home of football team Sarajevo FK and the country’s national team. It also plays host to local and national track and field, football and rugby events.
The biggest stadium in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 35,000-capacity venue was the setting for the Opening Ceremony of the XIV Olympic Winter Games – when it accommodated 45,000 people.
Built in 1947, the Kosevo Stadium suffered extensive damage during the Bosnian War, like many of the Sarajevo 1984 venues. Repairs were carried out in preparation for a visit by Pope John Paul II in April 1997 and a U2 concert later that year, two symbolically important events in the city’s recovery from the war. Since then, it has been hosting local, regional and some international athletics, football, American football and rugby events.
Pope Francis celebrated another Papal mass at the stadium in 2015, a year after the stadium was again extensively refurbished. Now known as the Asim Ferhatovic Hase Stadium, it was the setting for the opening ceremony of the 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival. The venue is currently awaiting refurbishment to bring it into line with UEFA’s latest stadium-access requirements.