Olympic Stadium (Phnom Penh)

The National Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It has a capacity of 70,000. Despite its name, the stadium has never hosted an Olympic Games.HistoryConstruction on the National Sports Complex started in 1963 and was completed in 1964. Designer Vann Molyvann made use of massive earthworks to create the stadium, digging up 500,000 cubic meters of earth to shape the grounds.The stadium might have been built to host the 1963 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, but the games were cancelled due to political problems in Cambodia. There was also the short-lived GANEFO games, that were held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 25~December 6, 1966 and were named 'First Asian GANEFO'. The stadium did play host to appearances by visiting dignitaries and state occasions, and was the home of Cambodia's national athletics teams.The stadium played a small part in the 1966 FIFA World Cup when North Korea faced Australia in a qualifier as the two remaining Asia/Oceania zone teams. Because North Korea lacked diplomatic relations with most countries and did not have a suitable venue at the time, finding a suitable venue for the match proved difficult until Head of State Norodom Sihanouk, an ally of Kim Il-sung, said the matches could be held in Phnom Penh.