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Kaftanzoglio (Καυτανζόγλειο) is a football stadium located in Thessaloniki, Greece. The stadium was built with money donated by the Kaftanzoglou Foundation, hence its name. At the time of its opening on 27 October 1960, the stadium was one of the highest quality stadiums in the Balkans.^[1] It currently has 28,028 seats, owing to a comprehensive renovation before reopening to host football matches for the 2004 Summer Olympics, which was centred in Athens. Beginning in 1982, it was the largest stadium in Greece, but has since been surpassed in capacity.

In 15 October 1969, a Greek attendance record was set with 47,458 fans present for a FIFA World Cup qualifying match, witnessing Greece defeat Switzerland by a 4-1 score.

Vassilis Hatzipanagis played in the stadium for over 15 years. Kaftanzoglio has been home to Iraklis FC since 1961.
In 1973 it hosted the European Cup Winners Cup Final, which resulted in a 1–0 victory for A.C. Milan over Leeds United.

The stadium regularly plays host to athletics events; it features the European Athletics Association event "Olympic Meeting Thessaloniki" every year; it hosted the Greek national championships in 2009, and it has been used for both athletics at the Mediterranean Games and the European Cup in athletics. It will be the host stadium for the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final.^[1]

References

External links

• (Greek) General Secretariat for Sports
• Official Homepage

Coordinates: 40°37′31.79″N 22°58′1.21″E / 40.6254972°N 22.9670028°E / 40.6254972; 22.9670028