José Amalfitani Stadium

About

The José Amalfitani Stadium (also known as Estadio Vélez Sarsfield, nicknamed El Fortín de Liniers) is a football stadium located in the Liniers neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, near Liniers railway station. The venue is the home of the Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sarsfield. The stadium was named after José Amalfitani, who was president of Vélez Sarsfield for 30 years.

The stadium was built between 1941 and 1943 and inaugurated in April 1943 in a friendly match between Vélez Sarsfield and River Plate. It was then renovated and enlarged later in preparation for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The stadium has a capacity of 49,540 spectators, although it does not provide seating for all of them like most Argentine stadia.

The Estadio José Amalfitani is also the national stadium for the Argentina national rugby union team (Los Pumas). Although the team plays test matches throughout the country, their highest-profile tests (such as against the New Zealand All Blacks) are usually held here. The Jaguares, a team that participated in the Super Rugby league from 2016 to 2020, played its home games at the stadium.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.