Home stadium for Qatar qualifying

[Omonoia9]

Where should the ethniki play for the upcoming campaign? OAKA seems to have problems, I don't think Rizoupoli is a permanent solution, the new AEK stadium is STILL under construction, and Leoforos hasn't been up to standard in over 15 years. That covers Athens. In neighboring Piraeus, for some reason, EPO and Olympiakos had a falling out, as Karaiskaki had been the main home of the ethniki fairly consistently from the time it reopened in 2004, through the end of 2017. The long rumored move to Crete never happened, as the stadium there needs work. Every time they try to play at Toumba in Thessaloniki, something always happens.

 

So what's the answer? Where will the ethniki play? Where SHOULD they play? 

[Alphonse]

I believe they will play at OAKA and Rizoupoli, pitch needs to be in good condition at both 

[Omonoia9]

1 minute ago, Alphonse said:

I believe they will play at OAKA and Rizoupoli, pitch needs to be in good condition at both 

As long as there's no/few fans, Rizoupoli might be better anyway. Even with fans, OAKA is too big unless you can get at least 50,000. That's why Karaiskaki was so perfect, but again, something clearly happened.

[Dean97]

I’m open to playing at Rizoupoli. I don’t know when fans will be back but for now Rizoupoli seems fine. I just hope the pitch is fine to play on.

[J1078]

What happened to Crete? I would play anywhere else rather then OAKA

[Omonoia9]

1 hour ago, J1078 said:

What happened to Crete? I would play anywhere else rather then OAKA

Stadium there requires bigger than expected upgrades to get to FIFA standards. 

[Ellada2004]

I prefer Greece play at the Karaiskaki that stadium with our fans gives us an advantage. 

[Omonoia9]

2 hours ago, Ellada2004 said:

I prefer Greece play at the Karaiskaki that stadium with our fans gives us an advantage. 

I agree, but clearly something happened between EPO and Olympiakos.

[Ellada2004]

3 hours ago, Omonoia9 said:

I agree, but clearly something happened between EPO and Olympiakos.

Ya EPO is a total mess and the President needs to go and others need to go!!

Edited December 9, 2020 by Ellada2004

[Antaeus7]

With the coronavirus still ravaging Greece, it will take time before fans can get back into the stadium. I think it is better off to have few or no fans at this time. 

[Omonoia9]

3 minutes ago, Molon Lave said:

With the coronavirus still ravaging Greece, it will take time before fans can get back into the stadium. I think it is better off to have few or no fans at this time. 

I think every country is on roughly the same timeline waiting for the vaccines to become widely available. So that being the case, if fans aren't an issue, where is the best place to play?

[Antaeus7]

Stadio Karaiskakis of course, it's the only 5 star stadium to host the Greek national team. It is such a shame that both EPO and Olympiakos are fighting over this like kids. 

[Omonoia9]

44 minutes ago, Molon Lave said:

Stadio Karaiskakis of course, it's the only 5 star stadium to host the Greek national team. It is such a shame that both EPO and Olympiakos are fighting over this like kids. 

Just makes sense in every way. Perfect size, check. Great atmosphere, check. Looks better if attendance not good, check. Near Athens, considering over half the country lives in/near Athens, you guessed it, check. 

[Blackhawk]

5 hours ago, Omonoia9 said:

I agree, but clearly something happened between EPO and Olympiakos.

Well yeah. Their guy did not win the EPO elections. That's why they are putting all kinds of obstacles on the national team.

[Omonoia9]

2 minutes ago, Blackhawk said:

Well yeah. Their guy did not win the EPO elections. That's why they are putting all kinds of obstacles on the national team.

I heard EPO didn't like the Olympiakos fans favoring their own players, and being hostile to fans of other teams. Sometimes EPO also gets it in their heads that Greeks outside the Athens area would support the ethniki more passionately.

[PaokCT]

EPO has chosen Toumba as the home for the friendly w/ Honduras and the qualifier in March w/ Georgia

[Omonoia9]

On 1/29/2021 at 11:20 AM, PaokCT said:

EPO has chosen Toumba as the home for the friendly w/ Honduras and the qualifier in March w/ Georgia

Yeah, just saw that. Seems like every time we try to play there, something happens. You think the whole campaign could end up there?

[Brklyngrk]

They need a consistent home where they can get a good crowd, hopefully Toumba is that place....

[J1078]

I don’t think crowds right now will matter as I can’t see any place allowing fans but for future games I agree. I guess Crete will no longer be an option? Is that off the table now?

[Brklyngrk]

I had read that the construction got pricey and with the delays that happened, they felt that it was better to move on.

[Boxou]

home stadium means nothing if we get to play with similar squads like the ones in the NL games.

[Ellada2004]

Lets just hope that the team does well in the world cup campaign and when the fans are allowed back I hope they will go and support the NT.

[Boxou]

little OT but just saw that Benfica-Arsenal game for the Europa league knock outs will be played in Karaiskakis.

Wondering why they didn't pick some like Rizoupoli or Oaka lmao