Perched on the roof of a Tokyo department store, nestled in the heart of the Swiss Alps or installed beyond the Arctic Circle in a fishing village in Norway… Football pitches have always managed to make a place for themselves in their environment for the greatest joy of players, amateurs and professionals alike.
A short world tour of these seven playgrounds that come out of the frame.
campo gerini – rome (italy)
© Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP
In the Italian capital, the Campo Gerini stadium is located next to the remains of a Roman aqueduct completed in 1587 under the pontificate of Pope Sixtus V. Inaugurated on April 27, 1952, this football ground is used by Roman amateur footballers and in particular by Atletico Diritti, a club created on the initiative of two Italian NGOs which bring together migrants, prisoners and students.
ottmar hitzfeld arena – gspon (switzerland)
© Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
Placed in the middle of the Swiss mountains and glaciers, this stadium is the highest in Europe because it is perched at an altitude of 2,000 m in the hamlet of Gspon, located in the canton of Valais. It had its moment of glory by organising, alongside Euro 2008, the first European football championship for mountain villages. Since its inauguration, this synthetic pitch has borne the name of Ottmar Hitzfeld, the former coach of Switzerland.
floating stadium – koh panyee (thailand)
© Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP
In the enchanting setting of Phang Nga Bay, in southern Thailand, this football pitch was built on stilts in the fishing village of Koh Panyee. Shortly after the 1986 World Cup, wanting to indulge their passion for football at home, villagers decided to create their own club and imagined a floating playground. In this very touristy region, it quickly became famous and has since attracted many visitors who have come to discover this must-see on Koh Panyee.
HENNINGSVAER stadion – henningsvaer (norway)
© Olivier MORIN / AFP
Located on one of the Lofoten Islands, in Norway, and embedded in the extraordinary mineral landscape of the village of Henningsvaer, this astonishing and magnificent synthetic football pitch has acquired worldwide fame, especially since the advent of social networks. Established beyond the Arctic Circle, this small green rectangle lost in the middle of the rock and the cod drying racks is only used for amateur football matches. Now it is a very popular tourist spot, especially for all football enthusiasts
adidas futsal park – tokyo (japan)
© Toru YAMANAKA / AFP
In the fascinating and bustling district of Shibuya in Tokyo, the roof of the Tokyu Toyoko department store has been home to Adidas Futsal Park since 2001, a stadium entirely surrounded by safety nets, reserved for the practice of futsal, a sport related to football. It was built for the World Cup held the following year in Japan and South Korea.
gospin dolac stadion – imotski (croatia)
© Branimir BOBAN / AFP
Dominated by the ruins of a fortress built in the Ottoman era, the stadium of the city of Imotski is located on the edge of an impressive abyss, at the bottom of which is Lake Modro, one of the two famous lakes of this region of Croatia. Completed in 1989, this sports arena with a capacity of 4,000 seats hosts a football school as well as the matches of NK Imotski, the local team which played for a long time in the 2nd Croatian division before being relegated to the 3rd division since 2013.
Note that Croatian international Ante Rebic, current AC Milan striker, played on this turf between 2008 and 2010 when he was a junior footballer.
eiõi stadium – eiõi (denmark)
© Ferdinand STÖR / UNSPLASH
Located on the island of Eysturoy in the Danish Faroe Islands between Iceland and Norway, this atypical stadium in the village of Eiõi is nestled in a setting between the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. Until 2015, it served as the football ground for EB/Streymur, the local club, before being replaced by a brand new stadium built in a better protected location closer to the village. Since then transformed into a campsite, its synthetic lawn is no longer trodden by local footballers but by tourists from all over the world in their motorhomes or caravans.