There are many atmospheres across the world that are renowned for their intensity, passion, and noise. Whether it be Anfield on a European night or the San Siro for Inter and AC Milan matches, fans can play a huge part in the result of a match and drive the home team forward.

Pre-match tifos and anthems also help the selection process when choosing the best atmospheres in the world. Fan displays and collective singing prior to a match can help to create an intimidating atmosphere that gives their team an edge and adds to the sense of occasion. So, here are the 15 best atmospheres in world football.

Ranking factors

The top 15 atmospheres in world football is a subjective matter. All football fans will have different opinions on certain home atmospheres, so it is important to establish some measures to put in place for the rankings.

• Noise created in the stadium: The visceral roar of supporters helping to drive the team forward in big moments.
• Historical matches impacted by fans: Famous matches and wins by home teams that have been helped by the atmosphere inside the stadium.
• Fan groups who help to drive the atmosphere: Supporter groups who are well-known across the world for the impact they have on the atmosphere.

Best stadium atmospheres in pictures

15 De Kuip

Feyenoord

De Kuip, the home of Feyenoord, has a capacity of 47,500 and is one of the most well-known grounds in European football. Matchday tifos, banners, smoke bombs and chants from the home supporters are common themes for Feyenoord home matches. This has helped them claim some big scalps in the Champions League this season, including wins against AC Milan and Bayern Munich.

In fact, De Kuip is at its best for a big European home tie or an Eredivisie match against Ajax, known as ‘De Klassieker’. Like Liverpool and Celtic, Feyenoord supporters sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before home games, which is a spine-tingling experience for people seeing it for the first time.

14 Karaiskakis Stadium

Olympiacos

Olympiacos are the most successful Greek club, winning 47 league titles. Not only are they a force domestically, but they have also improved in Europe in recent years. Last year, they won the UEFA Conference League, beating Fiorentina in the final after beating Unai Emery’s Aston Villa over two legs in the semi-finals. The Karaiskakis Stadium is renowned for its hostile atmosphere, with red flares and constant noise a feature of every Olympiacos home game.

The stadium opened in 2004 and has a capacity of 33,345 seats. Events at the 2004 Olympics were held here, alongside the 2023 UEFA Super Cup. For anyone who has to travel to Olympiacos in the latter stages of this season’s Europa League, they will know that they have their work cut out to secure a positive result.

13 Cairo International Stadium

Al Ahly and Zamalek (SC)

With a capacity of 75,000 and two teams with passionate supporters, Cairo International Stadium is able to create one of the best atmospheres in the world. Al Ahly and Zamalek SC groundshare this stadium for big matches, and when the teams meet, foreign referees are flown in to manage the game.

The police and security presence are extremely strict for the derby matches between the teams at Cairo International Stadium. The political tension and ultras groups creates one of the most intense rivalries and atmospheres in world football. As well as hosting club football, the stadium has hosted Africa Cup of Nations matches, including the 2006 final, which saw the hosts, Egypt, beat Ivory Coast on penalties in the final in front of over 74,000 people.

12 San Mames

Athletic Bilbao

San Mames Stadium opened in 2013 and is the home of Basque Country club Athletic Bilbao. The Lions have a passionate fanbase who are well-known for painting the ground red and white with tifos, banners and flags on all four sides. It is a modern venue that also hosted games at UEFA Euro 2020 and will host the upcoming 2025 UEFA Europa League final.

The atmosphere at Bilbao’s stadium is particularly impressive for important domestic and European cup ties. It helped propel the club to the 2023/24 Copa del Rey title, which included 4-2 and 3-0 wins against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.

11 Maracana

Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama

The Maracana Stadium, which opened in 1950, has an overall capacity of 73,139, making it the third-largest ground in South America. Flamengo and Fluminense predominately play at the stadium, along with Vasco da Gama and Brazil’s national team, who have also played there.

Two World Cup finals have been held at this iconic venue – the first of these between Uruguay and Brazil in 1950, which saw nearly 200,000 people in attendance – the largest attendance ever recorded at a football match. Most recently, the 2014 final between Germany and Argentina was played at the Maracana, with the latter winning 1-0 thanks to an extra-time goal from Mario Gotze.

10 Deutsche Bank Park

Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt have been one of the more entertaining sides in the Bundesliga over the past few years, even going on to win the Europa League not so long ago under the stewardship of now Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner. But what sets apart Eintracht from some of their other German counterparts, is the quite remarkable atmosphere created at their home ground of the Deutsche Bank Park. Always packed to the rafters, and with some of the most intriguing TIFOs in the game, a home game at Eintracht is filled with a unique atmosphere and feel that is difficult to replicate elsewhere.

9 The Marshall Jozef Pilsudski’s Municipal Stadium of Legia Warsaw

Legia Warsaw

Legia Warsaw are renowned across Europe for the passionate atmosphere they create for home games, especially in European competitions. The ultras who are lcoated in the ‘Zyleta’ part of the ground are well-known for their pre-match banners, which have been extremely political in the past.

Earlier this year, UEFA shut the ultras stand at Legia Warsaw due to a clash with the police before a UEFA Conference League match. The ultras responded by revealing a lego-inspired tifo in the adjacent stand with an expletive-laden message. The display was circulated widely on social media and was only a small glimpse into the atmosphere created by the Legia fans, as well as the controversy that surrounds the ultras group.

8 Stadio Diego Armando Maradona

Napoli

Named after the legend Diego Maradona, who helped guide Napoli to two Scudettos, Napoli’s home stadium is one of the most intimidating in Europe. For every home match, there are flares and banners aplenty from both Curva A and Curva B at opposite ends of the stadium.

The stadium is old-fashioned and in need of major renovation to bring it up to modern requirements. In fact, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis once labelled the venue a “toilet”. The outdated arena remains one of the most fierce in Europe, with the visceral roar of the Napoli fanatics often proving to be a decisive factor in big matches.

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7 Rams Park

Galatasaray

Galatasaray’s home stadium is called Rams Park due to sponsorship reasons and is always known as one of the hardest cauldrons to enter as an away team in European competitions. There are many ultras groups associated with the Turkish club, but UltrAslan are the most well-known. Aslan is a reference to the ‘Lions’, which is Galatasaray’s nickname.

Like the Napoli ultras, the Galatasaray fans are famous for their tifos and pyrotechnic displays. European matches at Rams Park are notorious for the fireworks and pyro displays, lighting up the stands in the yellow and red of Galatasaray. The most raucous atmosphere experienced at Rams Park is the game against fierce rivals, Fenerbahce. This derby is a complex one, with incidents and controversy between the two teams spanning decades.

6 Estadio Mas Monumental

River Plate

Estadio Mas Monumental is one of football’s most notorious atmospheres. River Plate fans are well-known for their displays and raucous support, especially in games against their rivals, Boca Juniors. Copa Libertadores knockout matches are always sold out and filled with over 80,000 passionate Argentine supporters in the red and white colours of River Plate. The stadium also hosts Argentina qualifying matches for their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns.

Before this year’s Superclasico against Boca Juniors, River Plate fans produced a stunning display with red and white ribbons and flares across all four stands of the ground. The River Plate fans were bouncing and chanting in unison as both sets of players entered the Estadio Mas Monumental cauldron.

5 Anfield

Liverpool

In fifth place is Anfield, the home of the six-time European champions, Liverpool. Anfield is most well-known for its atmosphere on European nights under the lights, which was on display for their miraculous comeback against Barcelona in the 2019 UEFA Champions League, when they beat the Spanish giants 4-0 in the second leg. The anthem of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before the match always adds to the sense of occasion.

There has been a growing concern in recent years that the expansion of the capacity at Anfield will impact the atmosphere at Anfield. However, this year has seen the ground at its very best, with raucous atmospheres against both Luton Town and Manchester City. After the 1-1 draw against City, Pep Guardiola described Anfield as “like a tsunami”.

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4 San Siro

AC Milan and Inter Milan

The San Siro has been the joint home of AC Milan and Inter Milan since 1947. Both sets of fans have produced stunning choreographic works before matches over the years, particularly before the Derby della Madonnina between the two teams. Before the Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan last season, AC Milan produced a mouthwatering devil display with the words “Forza Milan” displayed in the colours red and black.

This stadium is one of the most historic and well-recognised grounds in world football. It is an ageing venue, which explains why both tenants are looking at moving away from the ground in the next few years. Milan City Council declared that the stadium will not be demolished in the event that both sides end their tenancy. If you are an avid football fan and want to experience the intensity of Milan and Inter home matches, then hurry before it is too late.

3 Signal Iduna Park

Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund’s single-tiered Yellow Wall is one of the most striking stands in world football. The stand is steep and traditionally coloured in yellow and black by fan displays before matches. For fans looking to witness a truly unique stadium and stand, they should look no further than Signal Iduna Park. The new South Stand at Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium is even inspired by the Yellow Wall at Dortmund.

With an average attendance of over 81,000 fans, Dortmund fans are able to create a hostile atmosphere for their opponents. When asked about the atmosphere at Signal Iduna Park, Jurgen Klopp once said: “Every time you walk out onto the pitch it’s like being born again, except with a lot more applause. You come out, and it just explodes.”

2 La Bombonera

Boca Juniors

In terms of the stadium experience and level of passion inside one venue, La Bombonera is unmatched. Boca Juniors’ home stadium is full of blue and yellow colours outside and inside the ground, with every football match treated like a religious experience for the Boca fans. It is nicknamed ‘the chocolate box’ due to the design of the stadium, which resembles an unconvential ‘D’ shape.

La Bombonera is especially noisy and intense for the visit of rival River Plate in the Superclasico. The rivalry is not just on the pitch, with fans of both clubs intent on creating pre-match displays that are better than what the opposing set of fans produced in previous games. Journalist Celeste Moure once said: “Going to a futbol match in La Bombonera stadium is to soccer fans what witnessing a recording session at Abbey Road studios is to music fans.”

1 Celtic Park

Celtic

The best UK atmosphere on the list is Celtic’s home stadium. With a capacity of over 60,000, Celtic Park is explosive for European home games and Old Firm matches against Rangers. Like Liverpool, Celtic fans sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” prior to home games, which creates a sense of togetherness for an ardent group of supporters.

The ‘Green Brigade’ regularly produce stunning tifos and displays before matches. Although Celtic have struggled in European competitions in recent years, they have pulled off some memorable wins under the lights at Celtic Park. Notably, they beat Barcelona 2-1 in 2012, prompting Lionel Messi to say that “The games against Celtic were special and I want to remember them.”

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Information gathered from Transfermarkt.