7 of the world’s most spectacular sporting venues, from Europe’s highest football pitch to the longest golf course, in China
- Boasting scenery that matches the action they host, these jaw-dropping venues are worth a visit for their backdrops alone
- On the list: a 2,000m-high football pitch, a Himalayan golf course, a Unesco-recognised Italian town centre, and the world’s most prestigious Formula One race
Attending football matches during my childhood in England was a rough and ready experience. Dad frequently took me to dreary towns, where stadiums were hemmed in by rows of decaying Victorian-era terrace houses.
Cigarette smoke mixed with the whiff of sweat and asbestos dust, and you could smell the stench of the toilets long before you got anywhere near the entry turnstiles.
Fortunately, not all sporting theatres are as dilapidated and dismal as those I visited in the 1970s. Here are seven venues where the jaw-dropping scenery rivals the intensity of the contest.
1. Ottmar Hitzfeld Arena, Switzerland
If only dad had been a diehard fan of FC Gspon, in the Swiss Mountain League. We would have watched our football at the sublimely scenic Ottmar Hitzfeld Arena, Europe’s highest, at 2,000 metres (6,651 feet) above sea level.
Cable cars transport players and spectators to the pitch and nets are fitted to stop balls disappearing down the mountainside – although club officials reckon they’ve still managed to lose 1,000 footballs over the past 20 years.
Heavy snowfall puts an end to the season in October and the village of Gspon transforms into a ski resort.
2. Galle International Stadium, Sri Lanka
