Franso Hariri Stadium, Sports stadium in Erbil, Iraq
Franso Hariri Stadium is a football stadium in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. It has a grass pitch and covered stands arranged on multiple sides of the field.
The stadium was built in 1956 on the site of a former airfield and was later extensively renovated. It was renamed in 2001 in honor of Franso Hariri, an Assyrian Christian politician who was assassinated that year.
The stadium is named after Franso Hariri, an Assyrian Christian politician and governor of Erbil who was assassinated in 2001 and had backed the renovation of the ground. Erbil SC, the city's main club, plays its home matches here in the Iraqi Premier League, and the stands fill for these fixtures.
The stadium is centrally located in Erbil and easy to reach from most parts of the city. On match days, arriving early is a good idea since the area around it can get very busy.
On 23 February 2022, the stadium hosted an exhibition match in which Brazilian Roberto Carlos and Barcelona striker Patrick Kluivert played against members of Iraq's 2007 AFC Asian Cup-winning squad, including Noor Sabri, Mahdi Karim and Ahmed Mnajed.
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