Stade 8 Mai 1945

The Stade 8 Mai 1945 is a football stadium located in Sétif, Algeria. Situated on Avenue Mokhtar Laaribi, it was opened in 1972. It serves as the home ground for ES Sétif and USM Sétif. The stadium was named to commemorate the victims of the Sétif, Guelma, and Kherrata massacres that occurred on May 8, 1945, during French colonial rule. The playing surface is artificial turf (synthetic grass), a feature the stadium has had since its early years. The capacity is currently cited as 25,000; however, sources indicate the capacity was originally 15,000 at the time of opening and was expanded to 25,000 following renovations conducted between 1994 and 1999. Additional renovations were noted in March 2009, though specific costs or detailed changes for these periods are not definitively established in the gathered data. The stadium has not hosted the finals of the African Cup of Champions Clubs (CAF Champions League) or the Algerian Cup; ES Sétif's 1988 African Cup of Champions Clubs victory was decided by a final played in Accra, Ghana, and Algerian Cup finals are traditionally held at the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers. The stadium has faced issues with CAF homologation for continental matches in some years due to infrastructure standards. Regarding attendance, while the capacity is 25,000, a specific all-time official record is disputed or unclear. A match between ES Sétif and USM Alger on February 4, 2020, in Ligue 1 (ending 3-1) is reported by Le Buteur to have had a "record attendance" of more than 12,000 spectators. Other matches, such as ES Sétif vs USM Alger in December 2011 and ES Sétif vs CS Constantine in the Coupe d'Algérie in January 2014, are also described as having "record attendance" in various sources, but specific figures for these events are not consistently provided to confirm a single definitive all-time record. The stadium has not been renamed since its inauguration.