New Capital’s Egypt Stadium to Host First Football Match This Friday

The brand new Egypt Stadium in the New Administrative Capital will host its first football match this Friday, March 22nd, with a friendly bout between Egypt and New Zealand. The game is part of the international friendly tournament ‘Egypt Capital Cup’, featuring games between Egypt, New Zealand, Croatia and Tunisia from March 22nd to the 26th.

Whilst this will be the first official match to be played at the vast 94,000-seat stadium, it was officially opened in January 2024 to host the Pharaohs' pre-tournament preparations for the 2023 African Cup of Nations.

Friday night will also see Croatia and Tunisia face off at the stadium, with the losers of those two games facing off in a third-place match on March 25th. The final of the mini-tournament will take place on March 26th, with the first trophy celebration in the stadium taking place afterwards.

The friendly tournament is well-timed practice for the Egyptian national team, as they prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau in June.