Impulsive detours to hidden gems. I usually try and avoid football grounds while on holiday, but sometimes they just call to me. 

  AS Cannes

Overcast skies at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. A perfect place If down-at-heel brutalism is your thing.

 AS Monaco

The Louis II Stadium is epically hemmed in. You can see it best from the Prince’s Palace ramparts, two miles distant. Even then a sympathetic design means only the famous arches stand out.

  Limassol

A new project nearing completion in Kolossi. Limassol Apollon, AEL and Aris will cohabit here. The Alphamega Stadium takes “out of town” to extremes; it really couldn’t be further (both literally and figuratively) from their current inner-city grounds.  

 Malta

The National Stadium at Ta’ Qali one dull afternoon. The Park Nazzjonali is way out of town, surrounded by disused airfield workshops; feral cats prowl the Maltese equivalent of Wembley Way. 

  Pafos

Marathon runner and Cypriot folk-hero Stelios Kyriakides gave his name to the municipal stadium in Paphos. It’s seen here one quiet (and hot) afternoon. Current tenants include Akritas Chlorakas and Pafos FC, the latter an amalgamation of various predecessor clubs.   

  Peyia 

This ground hosted Europa League football in 2009 when Rapid Vienna came here to play APOP Kinryas. More recently it’s been used by Peyia 2014, a typically Cypriot merger of Peyia 2012 and PAS Peyia. It’s good that people who live in this pleasant village can watch football at a smart council-owned stadium.. 

  Tampa Bay

Rowdies are only spiritually connected with the famous NASL club. Their one-time baseball pitch at Al Lang Stadium has been progressively modernised and reprofiled for soccer. Its tranquil bayside location in downtown St Petersburg makes watching football here a joy.