Abandoned World Cup football stadiums, including Stadium 974

The World Cup has a long history of producing spectacular football stadiums, with host nations investing millions to construct venues capable of welcoming fans from around the world and help deliver another exciting tournament.

However, some of these stadiums have fallen into disuse after the tournament comes to an end, with abandoned grounds left to deteriorate while others have been demolished, repurposed or dismantled completely.

Here, FootballGroundGuide has taken a look at some of these abandoned and lost World Cup football stadiums.

Stadium 974

Opened: 2021
Location: Doha, Qatar

Stadium 974 was constructed out of shipping containers and modular components, with Qatar initially intending for the venue to be dismantled and repurposed after the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup.

However, the dismantling never took place after the tournament, and although it has since hosted occasional events, the venue largely remains unused and is still waiting to find out its ultimate fate.

Stadio Sant'Elia

Opened: 2017
Location: Cagliari, Italy

Stadio Sant'Elia was a venue during the 1990 World Cup in Italy and was then used by Cagliari until 2017, when the club were forced to move to the much smaller Unipol Domus.

The venue has since been declared unfit for the masses and left abandoned, and although there have been talks about demolishing the stadium and building a new home for Cagliari, that has failed to materialise to date.

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

Opened: 1961
Location: Washington, D.C., USA

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium hosted five matches at the 1994 World Cup and was the home of D.C. United until 2017, with the stadium officially closing in September 2019.

After several years of abandonment, demolition of the venue eventually began in 2025, with the process of removing the stadium completed in the summer of 2026.

Arena de Amazonia

Opened: 2014
Location: Manaus, Brazil

The Arena de Amazonia was opened in March 2014 after being built specifically for the 2014 World Cup, but the venue now lacks a major permanent tenant capable of filling a ground that size, with a capacity of around 44,000.

The ground does host very occasional cup matches, concerts and community events, but these events are few and far between and the stadium often sits unused for large stretches of time.