Mogadishu Stadium will to be reopened soon, says sports minister

[Deeq A.]

Somalia’s biggest sports stadium will open its doors in Mogadishu early next year.

The Minister for youth and sports, Khadija Mohamed Diriye confirmed the news during a visit on the renovation project on Wednesday.

The 65000-capacity facility was constructed by Chinese engineers in 1978 with help from the People’s Republic during President Siad Barre administration.

“We are expecting FIFA approved turf, VIP chairs, and stadium clock in January to complete the renovation process.” The Minister said.

The stadium was occupied by AMISOM peacekeepers before their vacation for renovation in October 2018.

The reconstruction project is funded by the Norwegian government.

The news comes amid the recent great performance by the Somali national team at the African cup of national qualifier as well as the CECAFA senior challenge cup.

The ocean stars play their home games in Djibouti since the early 1990s due to the instability and poor sports facilities in the country but the reopening of Mogadishu stadium is expected to inject new blood into Somali sports.

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