MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Somali ministry for Sports has postponed the country’s regional football league which was expected to kick off end of this year.
In a statement, Somali minister for Sports, Khadija Mohamed Diriye said the league has been delayed after the conference between her ministry and regional state ministries for Sports failed to take place.
According to the statement, the league was supposed to start in December this year.
The ministry has rescheduled the start of the league that has been postponed saying it will commence on April next year.
The first ever regional football league in the country’s football history was launched on
29th December 2016 in Kismayo town, about 500 kilometers south of the capital Mogadishu.
Somalia has been trying to revive the sports activities to create harmony among its citizens especially youth.
The country’s sports infrastructure has suffered great damage over time, since the start of the civil war in the early 1990s.
The 65,000 capacity Mogadishu Stadium was one key facility that has severed great damage.
The stadium was used as a base by various armed factions and remained under the control of militants until 2012 when the group was defeated.
This year, the stadium was handed over to Somali government by African Union mission in Somalia and is expected to undergo renovation soon, according to Somali ministry for Sports.
The Banadir Stadium has been recently improved to a possible capacity of nearly 15,000 spectators.
The stadium had also been destroyed during war, but later it was rebuilt by FIFA’s “Win in Africa with Africa program” and has since been hosting football games.
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