The Fatorda Stadium, officially known as the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium situated in Margao, Goa, India. The venue has been used to host both international football as well as cricket matches. It is Goa's only international stadium and has a seating capacity of 19,000 people. It has hosted 9 ODIs. The venue was established in 1989 and is owned and operated by the Sports Authority of Goa. It is currently the home stadium of FC Goa.
History
Beginning
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda was built in a record six months by the then Sports Minister Monte Cruz. It was opened in 1989 as a football only stadium but in less than a year was redeveloped to include cricket. On 25 October 1989 the first cricket ODI was played between Australia and Sri Lanka in Nehru Cup.
Football clubs using the stadium
In 2006, before the 2007–08 I-League, all four Goan clubs announced that The Fatorda would be used as the home for all four teams' I-League matches. In 2014 Indian Super League club FC Goa announced it as their home ground.
Facilities
In 2014 it was upgraded according to the latest FIFA specifications. It is designed with a 20,000 seating capacity. The stadium complex provides two levels of fan seating arrangement along with a VIP area. Facilities include arena lighting, natural turf, broadcast room, TV studio, player dressing rooms, match delegates area, doping control rooms, medical rooms for players and spectators, VIP lounge, corporate boxes, media tribune and media working stations, press conference area, mixed zone area, CCTV cameras, a swimming pool, multipurpose gymnasium and parking facilities. It is regarded as one of the most well maintained football grounds in the Indian subcontinent.
This venue has long been a mainstay of Indian football, having played host to many international games, including India's qualifiers for both the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup. The stadium is also used as a home venue for the major Goan clubs Dempo S.C., Churchill Brothers S.C., FC Goa, Salgaocar S.C. and Sporting Clube de Goa. It was chosen one of the six stadiums to host the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup matches in India. It has hosted the finals of Indian Super League two times: in 2015 and 2019.
Cricket
Although the stadium was originally built to be a football venue, over the past few years it has been increasingly used to host international cricket matches. Since hosting its first ever international in 1989 between Australia and Sri Lanka, it has played host to seven further One Day Internationals, the most recent being between India and Sri Lanka in 2007. The allocation of cricket matches to the stadium has often upset the Goan football community as it renders them unable to use the venue for hosting football.
The Stadium was renovated for the 2014 Lusofonia Games which were conducted in Goa. The opening and closing ceremonies of these Games were held at this venue. Football matches of the Lusofonia Games were also held here.
