The Azadi Stadium (Persian: ورزشگاه آزادی, romanized: Varzeshgâh-e Âzâdi, pronounced [væɹzeʃˈɡɒːhe ɒːzɒːˈdiː]), opened and also well known as the Aryamehr Stadium (Persian: ورزشگاه آریامهر, romanized: Varzeshgâh-e Âryâmehr), is an all-seater football stadium in Tehran, Iran. The stadium was designed by Abdol Aziz Mirza Farman-Farmaian Architects and Associates (AFFA) with other parts of the sports complex based on plans by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, an American architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was inaugurated on 17 of October 1971 by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran; it is currently self-owned by Esteghlal and Persepolis. It is also the home stadium of the Iran national football team. It has a capacity of 78,116 spectators, as a result of conversion to all-seater stadium. The stadium is part of the larger Azadi Sport Complex.^{[citation needed]}

Aryamehr (meaning "Light of the Aryans") was the title of the Shah; it was renamed after the Iranian Revolution to Azadi meaning "freedom" in Persian). It is the largest association football stadium in Western Asia. It was built to host the 1974 Asian Games and has hosted the 1976 AFC Asian Cup. The stadium also hosted five finals of Asian Club Competitions: three finals of AFC Champions League in 1999, 2002 and 2018 and two finals of Asian Cup Winners' Cup in 1991 and 1993. Azadi Stadium also hosted WAFF Championship Tournament in 2004 and 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Because of the loud sound of vuvuzelas, similar to the sound of bees, the stadium is sometimes referred to as a "Bee swarm".

The stadium is located in the West of Tehran, near Ekbatan district.^{[citation needed]}

The Azadi Stadium was constructed by Arme Construction Company and designed by Aziz Farman-Farmaian's architecture firm, AFFA, for the 1974 Asian Games with international criteria. It replaced the Amjadieh Stadium as the new home of Iran's national football team.^{[citation needed]}

The stadium was built as part of a much larger complex which included numerous Olympic-sized venues for various sports, laying the groundwork for ambitious plans for Tehran to make a bid to host the Summer Olympics. In August 1975, the Iranian Shah, Tehran's Mayor and the Iranian Olympic Committee submitted a formal letter to the International Olympic Committee, notifying it of Iran's interest in hosting the 1984 Summer Games. The stadium was the focal point for the bid. But political unrest in the late 1970s saw Tehran drop its bid for the Games, leaving the eventual host, Los Angeles, the only city left bidding.^{[citation needed]}

Renovations first began on the stadium in 2002. Stadium management also planned to later install seats in the upper level of the stadium. Those renovations were completed in 2003 and brought down the capacity of the stadium to well under 100,000. Later upgrades to the stadium brought it down to its current capacity of 78,116. Despite its reduced capacity, Azadi Stadium has been filled over capacity at times such as the Iran-Japan FIFA World Cup 2006 qualification match in March 2005 which resulted in the deaths of seven people.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, a large Jumbotron television was added, replacing the original scoreboard. The stadium hosted two West Asian Football Federation Championship in 2004 and 2008. In 2008, AFC forced Sepahan to play the home matches in AFC Champions League in this stadium after their home stadium Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium was closed for renovation. The stadium is also the regular host for Iran U-23 for the Olympic football qualifying.^{[citation needed]}