The 10 Largest Football Stadiums in Nigeria

Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja



There are about 54 popular stadiums in Nigeria. These stadiums are used as a  venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consist of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event. The following are the largest football stadium in the 36 states in Nigeria.

Moshood Abiola National Stadium

Moshood Abiola National Stadium (formerly known as National Stadium, Abuja) is a multipurpose national sports stadium located in Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The stadium serves as a home to the Nigerian national football team and fans of the popular bettingsites24.ng. It is a center for various social, cultural, and religious events.

The Federal Government approved the construction of the National Stadium complex and Games Village on 18 July 2000. The stadium was constructed to host the 8th All Africa Games which took place in October 2003. On 12 June 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari announced the change of the name of the National Stadium, Abuja to Moshood Abiola National Stadium in honor of former Nigerian politician Chief M.K.O Abiola.

The New Jos Stadium

Jos International Stadium is the second largest stadium in Nigeria. It is also a multipurpose standardized stadium in Jos, Plateau State in  Nigeria. It is used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 60,000 spectators. It is the home stadium of Plateau United Football Club.

The Lagos National Stadium

The Lagos National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria, which comprises an Olympic-size swimming arena and a multipurpose arena used for athletics, rugby, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, wrestling, and boxing matches.

It was used mostly for football matches until 2004. It hosted several international competitions including the 1980 African Cup of Nations final, the 2000 African Cup of Nations final, and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. It also served as the main stadium for the 1973 All-Africa Games.

Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium

Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, on the north end of the city in the Omagwa neighborhood. The stadium is named after Adokiye Amiesimaka, a former player with Nigeria’s National football team who was among the squad that won the African Nations Cup in 1980, former Chairman of Sharks Football club, and a former Attorney General of Rivers State. Presently, the stadium has a capacity of 38,000 people.

It opened on 19 July 2015 with a match between Nigeria and Congo in a qualifier for the Rio Olympics which ended with a 2-1 scoreline success over Congo. Later that month, the Nigerian Premier League squad Dolphins announced they will play the remainder of the 2015 season in the stadium.

From January 25 to 27 2019, the stadium was used for a 3-day event tagged, Higher Life Conference with Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. It was filled to full capacity and thousands of people sat on the main pitch for this event. It serves as the home ground to Rivers United.

Muhammadu Dikko Stadium

Muhammadu Dikko Stadium is an all-seater association football and athletics stadium in Katsina, Katsina State, Nigeria. The stadium is owned and maintained by the Katsina State Government. Construction started in the early 1990s, during the military Governorship of John Madaki, but was later abandoned.

The project was resurrected and completed by Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema and was opened in 2013 as Karkanda Stadium. In 2016, it was renamed after Katsina’s 20th Century Emir Muhammadu Dikko. El-Kanemi Warriors F.C of Maiduguri played their home games at the stadium from 2015 to 2016 while the Boko Haram insurgency raged. It is currently home to the Katsina State-owned Football club Katsina United. There is also a gymnasium and fitness club located within the stadium.

MKO Abiola Stadium

MKO Abiola Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Abeokuta, Nigeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Gateway F.C. The stadium has a capacity of 10,000 people. The stadium name refers to Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola an important businessman, publisher, politician, and aristocrat of Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Yakubu Gowon Stadium

Yakubu Gowon Stadium (formerly Liberation Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Elekahia suburb of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Rivers United F.C., formerly Dolphins F.C.

The stadium has a capacity of 16,000

In 2015, it was renamed in honor of the former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon. The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship was hosted here.

Godswill Akpabio International Stadium

The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium (formerly Akwa Ibom International Stadium) is an all-seater national sports stadium located in Uyo, the state capital of Akwa Ibom. The stadium serves as a home to the Nigerian Super Eagles as well as a center for various social, cultural, and religious events.

The contract for the construction of the Akwa Ibom International Stadium complex and Games Village was awarded in 2012 to Julius Berger and was completed in 2014. The 30,000-seater ultra-modern multipurpose sports complex was modeled after Allianz Arena.

Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel renamed Akwa Ibom Stadium Godswill Obot Akpabio International Stadium, immediately following his inauguration ceremony on May 29, 2015, in the stadium. Godswill Akpabio was the immediate past governor of the state.

Enyimba International Stadium

The Enyimba International Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Aba, Nigeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home ground of Enyimba F.C. The stadium holds 16,000 people following renovations in 2018. Tenants Enyimba were crowned Nigerian football champions several times.

Obafemi Awolowo Stadium

The Obafemi Awolowo Stadium located at Liberty road, Ring Road in Ibadan, Nigeria, originally known as Liberty Stadium until 2010 is a football stadium with a capacity of 25,000 seats.


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