Construction of the stadium was started after World War II, on the site of BSK Stadion, which was a 25,000 seat stadium that hosted the Yugoslav national team as well as BSK Beograd. The stadium was built with the help of the Yugoslav People's Army, in the period between 1948 and 1951. Although the stadium was not completely finished, the first match was Yugoslavia against France on 9 October 1949, which ended 1–1. The ground was officially opened on Yugoslav People's Army Day, on 22 December 1951.