Construction started in 1939 and the stadium was inaugurated in 1946 for the Balkan Cup, which was won by the Albania national football team.

After World War II, 400 workers and 150 daily volunteers finished construction of the stadium.

[6] The stadium was named after Qemal Stafa, a Hero of Albania in World War II.

[6] The inauguration occurred when the Albania national football team played in the stadium for the first time on 7 October 1946, when the Balkan Cup was organised.

[6] The Cup was won by Albania; they overcame teams like Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Romania in that competition.

In 1996, Qemal Stafa had illumination for evening sports event for the first time, with the funding being a gift from UEFA.

[12] During the early 2000s, the stadium was considered a "curse" for other national teams by the Albanian media, partly due to the fact that Albania rarely lost their home games.

[6] Before this period, during 1986 World Cup qualifying round, future semi-finalist Belgium lost 2-0 at Qemal Stafa.