In honour of the impending return of the German Bundesliga, here are a few football grounds with some lovely surrounding rocks and geology. Because why not? [thread]

1. Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico – Home of C.F. Monterrey in Guadalupe, the impressive stadium sits in a depression in the shadow of the straddle-shaped Cerro de la Silla mountain, comprised of variably-dipping Jurassic and Cretaceous limestones. Photo source unknown.

2. Henningsvær Stadion, Lofoten Islands, Norway – a stunning setting for a football pitch. Located in a small fishing village, there isn’t much room for spectators on the jagged 1.8 Ga Lofoten mangeritic intrusive rocks, gabbros, anorthosites and gneisses. Photo source unknown

3. Stadion Gospin Dolac, Croatia – This 4,000-capacity stadium is home of NK Imotski. It sits in a natural sinkhole dome in a dolimitic karst. The stadium is next to the 500 m-deep Blue Lake, topped by the 10th century Illyrian Topana fortress. Photo: __imocki__ (Instagram)

4. Hásteinsvöllur, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland – This multiuse stadium in the south coast Westman Island sits on the Helgafell basaltic lava field near Eldfell, a volcano which erupted devastatingly in 1973. Photo source unknown

5. Estadi Nacional, Andorra – The home of the Andorra national team (albeit a tiny nation), situated 1,000 m above sea level in the east Pyrenees. The alkaline granite mountains are part of the Mt-Louis-Andorra Variscan Batholith. Nice for football and skiing! Photo: Arquitectura

6. Eidi Stadium, Faroe Islands – Another Scandinavian wonder, Eidi sits next to the Atlantic Ocean (tougher conditions than a cold Tuesday night in Stoke). The pitch lies on the irregular eroded surface of the Palaeocene and Eocene Middle Basalt Series. Photo: Visit Faroe Islands

7. Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar – All Gibraltan clubs play at Victoria Stadium. At the foot of the famous Rock of Gibraltar, the partly overturned Early Jurassic dolomitic limestone towers over the peninsula. The venue hosts the wonderfully named “Rock Cup”. Photo: Peter Miles

8. Estádio Municipal de Braga, Portugal – This Architecture Prize-winning stadium is carved into the rock face on the site of the former Monte Castro quarry in the Variscan granitoid rocks. I wonder how often Sporting Clube de Braga win by a landslide... Photo: farm6 (Flickr)

9. Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago, Chile – the home of Colo-Colo is in the Santiago Basin of the Chilean Central Valley, west of the tectonically active San Ramón Fault and Principal Andes Cordillera, comprised of intrusions, volcanics and sediments. Photo: 9ineSport

10. Tasiilaq Stadium, Greenland – It may not have actual grass (not-so green land), but it occupies the largest piece of flattened land in the area. The 1.7 Ga Ikaasartivaq intrusive complex of gabbroic to granitic intrusions forms the backdrop. Photo: Football Stadium (Facebook)

11. Cacica Salt Mine, Suceava, Romania – A pitch that looks like it's from a FIFA advert! The underground mine, located in a diapir of saliferous formations, is a 70 m deep 5 a side pitch (with a fan capacity of 2). The halite is ideal for your half time chips! Photo: India Times

Finally, shout out to the Gorgons, the renegade rivals of the Hurricanes in the 1990’s cartoon series. These mavericks played in an actual volcanic crater on the island of Garkos! Photo: Classic Anime Corner