After a two-year construction phase, renovation work at the Arena in Hanover is complete, bringing the number of ready-to-use 2006 FIFA World Cup? stadiums up to six. Following a ?63 million modernisation programme, the former Niedersachsenstadion now fulfils the strict criteria required to earn the official designation "FIFA World Cup stadium Hanover". The football-only stadium makes its debut on the international stage at the FIFA Confederations Cup on 16 June 2005 with the group meeting between Mexico and Japan. Two further tournament fixtures follow, the first-round clash between Mexico and Brazil and the second semi-final.

The official inauguration is on 23 January when the Bundesliga programme resumes after the winter break with Hanover 96 at home to Bayer Leverkusen. The highlight of a major opening day party is to be the symbolic handing over of a key to Hanover's "12th man", namely their loyal fans.

The new stadium boasts a capacity of 49,000 for domestic fixtures including 7,000 standing places. For the 2006 FIFA World Cup? and the FIFA Confederations Cup the Arena offers 44,652 covered seats. Hanover's new temple of football hosts four group fixtures and one match in the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup.

With 18 months still to go before the Opening Match in Munich on 9 June 2006, the FIFA World Cup stadium Hanover becomes the sixth arena to fulfil FIFA's demanding criteria for FIFA World Cup venues. The next two stadiums scheduled to meet FIFA benchmarks are the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg in March and the Frankfurt Waldstadion in May, both in good time for the FIFA Confederations Cup. After this, the only stadiums remaining to be completed are the brand new FIFA World Cup stadium in Munich and the renovated arenas in Dortmund, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern.

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