{{Short description|Football stadium in Karachi, Pakistan}} {{Infobox venue | name = KMC Football Stadium | nickname = | image = KMC Football Ground - panoramio (cropped).jpg | caption = An upper view of KMC Football Ground | location = Saddar Town, Karachi, Pakistan | coordinates = {{coord|24|51|3|N|66|59|29|E|type:landmark|display=it}} | broke_ground = | opened = 1956<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/668922-the-story-of-karachis-kmc-football-stadium|title=The story of Karachi's KMC football stadium | Sports | thenews.com.pk|website=www.thenews.com.pk}}</ref> | closed = | demolished = | owner = Karachi Metropolitan Corporation | operator = | seating_capacity = 15,000 | surface = Grass | construction_cost = | architect = | tenants = Karachi Metropolitan Corporation FC (1956–2004) }}
The '''KMC Football Stadium''' is an association football stadium in Karachi, Pakistan, with a capacity of around 15,000.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tides of time |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=186447&Cat=10&dt=6/23/2009 |website=thenews.com.pk |access-date=2024-12-11 |archive-date=2015-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518092623/http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=186447&Cat=10&dt=6/23/2009 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> The stadium is owned by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. The stadium's name has changed in step with Karachi's civic administration. It was originally named after the Karachi Municipal Corporation, became the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Stadium in 1976, was known as the '''CDGK Stadium''' during the City District Government Karachi era (2001–2010), and reverted to KMC Football Stadium after the KMC was restored in 2011.
It is one of the oldest stadiums in the country, and has hosted several international matches. The Pakistan national team has played here against visiting teams from the Soviet Union, Iran, China, Turkey, Kuwait, Korea, Japan, Germany and USA.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-06-04 |title=KMC football stadium remains neglected - thenews.com.pk |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-10-107309-KMC-football-stadium-remains-neglected |access-date=2024-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604051733/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-10-107309-KMC-football-stadium-remains-neglected |archive-date=2012-06-04 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2020-08-07 |title=KMC Football stadium: Downtrodden glory - ARYSports.tv |url=https://arysports.tv/kmc-football-stadium-downtrodden-glory/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807042513/https://arysports.tv/kmc-football-stadium-downtrodden-glory/ |archive-date=2020-08-07 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-09-01 |title=Why is PFF ignoring KMC football stadium? - thenews.com.pk |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-10-128647-Why-is-PFF-ignoring-KMC-football-stadium |access-date=2024-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901153604/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-10-128647-Why-is-PFF-ignoring-KMC-football-stadium |archive-date=2012-09-01 }}</ref>
==History== ===Early years=== [[File:President Ayub Khan witnessing a football game at KMC Stadium, 1958.jpg|left|thumb|President of Pakistan Ayub Khan (far right) witnessing a football game at the KMC Stadium in 1958.]]
The stadium was built before the partition of India, as a piece of barren land surrounded by a 12 ft wall.<ref name=":0" /> In 1956, in a match featuring Keamari Union against Baloch Eleven, the pavilion collapsed with close to 100 people getting injured.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The story of Karachi's KMC football stadium {{!}} Sports {{!}} thenews.com.pk |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/668922-the-story-of-karachis-kmc-football-stadium |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}</ref>
The then commissioner of Karachi, Ghulam Ahmed Madni, visited the ground after the tragedy, being instructed by the president of Pakistan Ayub Khan, to start the renovation work in 1962.<ref name=":0" /> The stadium also had their own club called KMC FC, which was formed in the same decade in which the venue was established.<ref name=":1" />
===1968–2000=== {{multiple image | perrow = 2 | total_width = 300 | align = left | image1 = CSKA Moscow and Pakistan national football team at the KMC Stadium, Karachi in 1969.jpg | image2 = Pakistan national football team captain Murad Bakhsh presenting the team to chief guests, 1969.jpg | image3 = Pakistan football team against CSKA Moscow from USSR at the KMC Stadium, 1969.png | image4 = | footer = Pakistan national football team in a friendly against CSKA Moscow from the Soviet Union at the KMC Stadium on 28 February 1969 }}
During the 1960s, the stadium hosted several friendly matches for the Pakistan national football team against touring sides such as Saudi Arabia in 1967,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan Observer 1967.03.31 — South Asian Newspapers |url=https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/san/?a=d&d=paob19670331-01.1.8 |access-date=2025-08-21 |website=gpa.eastview.com}}</ref> FC Kairat in 1968,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan Observer 1968.03.20 — South Asian Newspapers |url=https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/san/?a=d&d=paob19680320-01.1.10 |access-date=2025-08-21 |website=gpa.eastview.com}}</ref> and CSKA Moscow in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan Observer 1969.03.01 — South Asian Newspapers |url=https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/san/?a=d&d=paob19690301-01.1.8 |access-date=2025-08-21 |website=gpa.eastview.com}}</ref> In 1968, the stadium hosted its first tournament, which featured teams from former East Pakistan.<ref name=":0" /> The stadium, originally named after the Karachi Municipal Corporation, was renamed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Football Stadium following administrative restructuring in 1976. On 8 January 1983, the stadium hosted a match between Pakistan and the German South-West Region team.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Bhatti |first=Mukhtar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3vhOwAACAAJ |title=Pakistan Sports: An Almanac of Pakistan Sports with Complete Records 1947-1999 |date=1999 |publisher=Bhatti Publications |pages=237–250 |language=en}}</ref> In 1989, former KMC football team player Ahmed Jan was appointed caretaker of the stadium, and continued in that role even after his official retirement from the KMC department in 2011.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Hasan |first=Shazia |date=2014-06-22 |title=The ground master |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1113997 |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Football in Karachi: Diamonds in the rough |url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/154239-diamonds-in-the-rough |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=www.geo.tv |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Sahar |date=2012-01-24 |title=In Pakistan's urban badland, soccer offers hope |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/in-pakistans-urban-badland-soccer-offers-hope-idUSTRE80N0ON/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=Reuters |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wasim |first=Umaid |date=2017-11-17 |title=Departmental teams contribute to ensure football survives after FIFA ban |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1370933 |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref> On 26 August 1999, Jan survived an assassination attempt when two gunmen, in an attempt to take control of the KMC ground, fired several shots at him.<ref name=":2" />
===CDGK era (2001–2010)=== From 2001 to 2011, during the City District Government Karachi period, it was known as the CDGK Stadium. The venue hosted the 2009 Karachi Football League final between Shahzad Mohammadan and Nazimabad FC, with 15,000 people in attendance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/343593/shahzad-m-dan-retain-plf-crown|title=Shahzad M'Dan retain PLF crown|date=February 16, 2009|website=DAWN.COM}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2013-01-13 |title=In-depth: Pakistan football |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/778489/in-depth-pakistan-football |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525043530/http://dawn.com/2013/01/13/in-depth-pakistan-football/ |archive-date=25 May 2013 |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref>
===2011–present=== After the restoration of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation in 2011, the stadium once again came under KMC's management, and reverted its name to KMC Stadium. KMC Stadium was one of the two venues for the 2021 National Women Football Championship.
==See also== * List of football stadiums in Pakistan
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Karachi landmarks}}
Category:Football venues in Pakistan Category:Stadiums in Karachi Category:Multi-purpose stadiums in Pakistan