History
The original stadium was built in an Olympic Stadium shape, as idealized by Gerardo Bozio, a young fascist architect from Florence, Italy. Its planned capacity was 15,000; Tirana at that time had less than 60,000 inhabitants so the stadium would have been more than sufficient. The stadium was originally designed in an elliptical shape and was to have been completely clad in marble. Galeazzo Ciano symbolically placed the first stone in August 1939. Construction lasted four years; work was interrupted in 1943 after the Capitulation of Italy. During the German invasion of Albania the stadium was used by the occupying German forces to store vehicles and equipment. After World War II, 400 workers and 150 daily volunteers finished construction of the stadium. The planned marble cladding was only installed on one stand.
The stadium was named after Qemal Stafa, a Hero of Albania in World War II. The inauguration occurred when the Albania national football team played in the stadium for the first time on 7 October 1946, when the Balkan Cup was organized. The Cup was won by Albania; they overcame teams like Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Romania in that competition. Afterwards the stadium was used for the Albanian Superliga matches, athletics events, and the six Albanian Spartakiads.
The second football stadium in Tirana, the Selman Stërmasi stadium, was built in 1959 but by the late 1960s and early 1970s, the stadium's capacity was still not sufficient to meet the growing needs of the Albanian Superliga. The Qemal Stafa stadium was thus enhanced for the 30th anniversary of the Liberation of Albania in 1974. One of the stands was extended from 10 to 28 rows, taking the capacity of the stadium to 35,000 (no seats were installed at that time). An electronic display purchased in Hungary was also added. The enlargement of the stadium was celebrated in November 1974, on the occasion of the Third National Spartakiad.
After 1991, other modernization projects took place, including the installation of seats which reduced the capacity to today's 19 700. In 1996, Qemal Stafa had illumination for evening sports event for the first time, with the funding being a gift from UEFA. In 2008 the stadium was revamped with new areas for anti-doping procedures and internet rooms were added for journalists.
The stadium is used by the Albania national football team and for the home games of Tirana-based Albanian football clubs: KF Tirana, Partizani, and Dinamo. After its relegation from the Superliga to the Albanian First Division, Partizani is no longer using the stadium.
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