MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheire has applauded the support by EU countries to renovate the country’s largest stadium, Mogadishu Stadium.
In Twitter post, the minister said EU’s sustained support has seen this stadium through the ruins to this remarkable renovation.
The PM stated that the country true partners who stand by Somali people to rise from the ashes.
“Somalia needs Partners who stand with us through both hard times & better times, who share the vision of a stable, prosperous & united #Somalia,” the premier said.
The rehabilitation of Mogadishu Stadium got contributions from countries and organisations including Norway and some private companies.
The EU contributed 1.3 million euros to the rehabilitation of Mogadishu stadium. The entire football stadium got a facelift. The VIP section, bathrooms, meeting rooms, parking were rehabilitated. There will be another round of work to rebuild the hotel and other sports courts.
African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) from Uganda had been stationed in the stadium since 2011, after they chased out al-Shabaab from the capital, who had banned all sporting events in the capital and had made the stadium their base since 2008.
It had fallen into a state of disrepair, overrun with weeds and its walls peppered with bullet holes testifying to the violence which has ravaged the city over the past 30 years.
The stadium was handed back to the government in August 2018 and was renovated with funding from Norway and the European Union.
Finally, the Somali national team will have a home to play in international matches.
1988 was the last time the national team had a home game; since then we have been using Djibouti for home matches.
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