# Jinnah Sports Stadium

Jinnah Sports Stadium (Urdu: جناح سپورٹس سٹیڈیم) is a multi-purpose stadium in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home venue for the Pakistan national football team. The stadium has a capacity of 48,700 people, and is the largest stadium in Pakistan. The stadium is owned by the Pakistan Sports Board. The stadium is part of the Pakistan Sports Complex which also houses Liaquat Gymnasium, a gymnasium sports complex for indoor sports.

## History
### Early years

Named after Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the stadium was built in the 1970s by Chinese State Construction Engineering for hosting the 1978 Asian Games, which were ultimately shifted to Bangkok. The Liaquat Gymnasium nearby was formally inaugurated as part of the complex when Pakistan played host to the seventh 1984 Asian Table Tennis Championships.

### Home of Pakistan football

In 1986, it hosted the 1986 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup for football matches. The stadium was first renovated and used for the South Asian Games in 1989. The same year, it also hosted the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification where Pakistan participated for the first time.
The stadium was once again chosen as a venue for the South Asian Games when Pakistan again hosted the event in 2004. Apart from being one of the main venues of several national sports events such as the National Games of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Inter Provincial Youth Games, or football events such as the Pakistan Premier League and the National Women Football Championship, the stadium has been a regular home venue for the Pakistan national football team since the 1980s. In 2014, the stadium hosted the 2014 SAFF Women's Championship for the Pakistan women national football team.

## Refurbishments

The stadium was first renovated to serve as host for the South Asian Games in 1989 with help of Chinese engineers.
After years of inactivity due to the ban on Pakistan Football Federation by FIFA, the stadium served as host after 11 years since Pakistan ever held an international football event, for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification on 17 October 2023, which resulted in Pakistan's first ever victory in a World Cup qualifying match against Cambodia. Due to the scarcity of stadiums in Pakistan meeting FIFA standards, the stadium was refurbished including the grass, goalposts. For the matches at the next round, the stadium went more reforms upgrading the floodlights and seats.

## Hosting history
### Multi-sport events

* 1989 South Asian Games
* 2004 South Asian Games

### Football events

* 1986 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup
* 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
* 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
* 2014 SAFF Women's Championship
* 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

### Baseball events

* 2006 Asian Baseball Cup
* 2010 Asian Baseball Cup
* 2015 Asian Baseball Cup
* 2017 Asian Baseball Cup
* 2023 West Asia Baseball Cup
While football, baseball, and athletics have been the main international sports hosted at Jinnah Sports Stadium, the broader Islamabad Sports Complex has also hosted the 1984 Asian Table Tennis Championships and the 1988 Asian Wrestling Championships.

## Football tournaments
### 1986 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup

The stadium was the venue for the 1986 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup.
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
| 25 April 1986 | Pakistan Green | 1–0 | Sri Lanka | Group stage | N/A |
| 25 April 1986 | China | 5–0 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 26 April 1986 | Pakistan Green | 1–0 | South Korea XI | Group stage | N/A |
| 26 April 1986 | Pakistan White | 0–7 | China | Group stage | N/A |
| 27 April 1986 | Nepal | 2–2 | Sri Lanka | Group stage | N/A |
| 27 April 1986 | Pakistan White | 0–4 | South Korea XI | Group stage | N/A |
| 28 April 1986 | Pakistan White | 2–3 | Sri Lanka | Group stage | N/A |
| 28 April 1986 | Pakistan Green | 0–3 | China | Group stage | N/A |
| 29 April 1986 | South Korea XI | 5–0 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 30 April 1986 | South Korea XI | 4–0 | Sri Lanka | Group stage | N/A |
| 30 April 1986 | Pakistan Green | 7–0 | Pakistan White | Group stage | N/A |
| 1 May 1986 | China | 3–0 | Sri Lanka | Group stage | N/A |
| 1 May 1986 | Pakistan White | 0–2 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 2 May 1986 | Pakistan Green | 5–0 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 2 May 1986 | China | 1–1 | South Korea XI | Group stage | N/A |

### 1989 South Asian Games

The stadium was the venue for the 1989 South Asian Games.
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
| 20 October 1989 | Maldives | 0–0 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 21 October 1989 | Bangladesh | 3–0 | Sri Lanka | Group stage | N/A |
| 22 October 1989 | Pakistan | 0–0 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 23 October 1989 | Bangladesh | 1–1 | India | Group stage | N/A |
| 24 October 1989 | Pakistan | 2–0 | Maldives | Group stage | N/A |
| 25 October 1989 | India | 2–1 | Sri Lanka | Group stage | N/A |
| 26 October 1989 | India | 2–1 | Nepal | Bronze medal match | N/A |
| 26 October 1989 | Pakistan | 1–0 | Bangladesh | Gold medal match | N/A |

### 2004 South Asian Games

The stadium was the venue for the 2004 South Asian Games.
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
| 01 April 2004 | Pakistan | 1–0 | Bangladesh | Group stage | N/A |
| 01 April 2004 | India | 2–0 | Afghanistan | Group stage | N/A |
| 03 April 2004 | India | 4–1 | Bhutan | Knockout stage | N/A |
| 03 April 2004 | Pakistan | 1–1 | Sri Lanka | Knockout stage | N/A |
| 05 April 2004 | Sri Lanka | 0–0 | Bhutan | Bronze medal match | N/A |
| 05 April 2004 | Pakistan | 1–0 | India | Gold medal match | 37,000 |

### 2014 SAFF Women's Championship

The stadium was the venue for the 2014 SAFF Women's Championship.
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
| 11 November 2014 | Pakistan | 1–2 | Sri Lanka | Group stage | 6,500 |
| 12 November 2014 | Nepal | 8–0 | Bhutan | Group stage | 2,000 |
| 13 November 2014 | India | 8–0 | Maldives | Group stage | 250 |
| 13 November 2014 | Bangladesh | 6–1 | Afghanistan | Group stage | 5,000 |
| 14 November 2014 | Sri Lanka | 3–0 | Bhutan | Group stage | 500 |
| 14 November 2014 | Pakistan | 0–2 | Nepal | Group stage | 1,700 |
| 15 November 2014 | Maldives | 1–0 | Afghanistan | Group stage | 2,000 |
| 15 November 2014 | India | 5–1 | Bangladesh | Group stage | 2,000 |
| 16 November 2014 | Nepal | 3–0 | Sri Lanka | Group stage | 600 |
| 16 November 2014 | Pakistan | 4–1 | Bhutan | Group stage | 4,000 |
| 17 November 2014 | Afghanistan | 0–12 | India | Group stage | 2,000 |
| 17 November 2014 | Maldives | 1–3 | Bangladesh | Group stage | 900 |
| 19 November 2014 | India | 5–0 | Sri Lanka | Semi-finals | 2,000 |
| 19 November 2014 | Nepal | 1–0 | Bangladesh | Semi-finals | 5,000 |
| 21 November 2014 | India | 6–0 | Nepal | Final | 8,000 |