Makario Stadium, Nicosia 30.8.1978

Yes Merja, I’d love to visit the Makario Stadium. The Stadium is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus. It was the largest and main sports venue of the capital up to the construction of the GSP stadium in 1999. At present it is mostly used for football matches and is the home ground of Digenis Morphou and Ethnikos Assia. The stadium holds 16,000 seated spectators. The playing field is surrounded by a running track and can be adapted to hold most track and field events. Apart from corporate boxes and the press centre, there are no coverings for spectators.

It is built in the Nicosia suburb of Makedonitissa, close to the grounds of the Cyprus State Fair, with which it shares a large car park.

Over the years it has served as the home ground for Nicosia teams such as AC Omonia, APOEL and Olympiakos. The Cypriot national team has also played home matches there in the past. All those teams have now relocated to the New GSP stadium.

The Makario was built in 1978 and is named after Makarios III, the Ethnarch of Cyprus; Archbishop and first President of Cyprus. It has hosted many Cypriot Cup and Super Cup finals and was the main venue for the 1989 Games of the Small States of Europe. The stamp on this cover was issued to commemorate the opening of the Athletic Centre in 1978.