Neftçi Arena, formerly known as Bakcell Arena, is a football-specific stadium located in the 8th Kilometer district of Nizami raion, Baku, Azerbaijan. The stadium has a capacity of 10,289 spectators and serves as the home ground of Azerbaijan Premier League club Neftçi PFK. It also serves as an occasional venue for the Azerbaijan national football team. The stadium was nominated for StadiumDB's Stadium of the Year award in 2012.
Construction and opening Construction began on 30 April 2010 in the 8th Kilometer district, a residential area east of Baku's old town, from which the stadium took its original name, 8 km Stadionu. The stadium was built on a compact plot situated between two local schools, which constrained the overall footprint of the venue. Despite its modest size, the stadium includes 17 skyboxes occupying much of the upper tier, 200 dedicated press seats, and 300 parking bays. Construction was completed in August 2012, and the stadium was officially opened on 14 September 2012 by President Ilham Aliyev, one week before it hosted its first international tournament.
Naming history The stadium originally opened as 8 km Stadionu (8th Kilometer Stadium). In January 2013, it was renamed Bakcell Arena under a sponsorship agreement with Bakcell, an Azerbaijani mobile telephone operator. The Bakcell sponsorship ran for a decade, and when it concluded in August 2023, the stadium reverted to Neftçi Arena. In 2025, a new naming-rights agreement was reached with Palms Sports, and the stadium became known as Palms Sports Arena.
Events Shortly after its opening, the stadium served as a venue for the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, hosted by Azerbaijan from 22 September to 13 October 2012, including quarter-final and semi-final matches.
Neftçi PFK has played all of its home Azerbaijan Premier League and Azerbaijan Cup matches at the stadium since the 2012–13 season. The Azerbaijan national football team has also used the venue as an alternative home ground for World Cup qualifiers and friendlies after the stadium met UEFA stadium criteria.
The stadium has twice reached its full capacity of 11,000. The first occasion was a UEFA Europa League third qualifying round match between Gabala and Panathinaikos on 3 August 2017, which Panathinaikos won 2–1. The second was a UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round match between Neftçi and Beşiktaş on 10 August 2023, which Beşiktaş won 3–1.
Azerbaijan national football team matches The following national team matches were held in the stadium.
DateTime (CEST)Team #1Res.Team #2RoundAttendance7 June 2013 21:00 Azerbaijan1–1 Luxembourg2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying9,25811 October 2013 21:00 Azerbaijan2–0 Northern Ireland2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying10,10015 October 2013 22:00 Azerbaijan1–1 Russia2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying11,0009 September 2014 18:00 Azerbaijan1–2 BulgariaUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying11,00016 November 2014 18:00 Azerbaijan0–1 NorwayUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying9,2003 September 2014 18:00 Azerbaijan0–0 CroatiaUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying10,0004 September 2017 18:00 Azerbaijan5–1 San Marino2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying8,0008 June 2019 18:00 Azerbaijan1–3 HungaryUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying10,45011 June 2019 18:00 Azerbaijan1–5 SlovakiaUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying8,2009 September 2019 18:00 Azerbaijan1–1 CroatiaUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying9,15016 November 2019 18:00 Azerbaijan0–2 WalesUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying8,62213 November 2025 18:00 Azerbaijan0–2 Iceland2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying4,300
See also List of football stadiums in Azerbaijan
References