The Old Football Facility in Somalia, the Stadium Banaadir now has a
terrible appearance and changed into a grazing land after more than
two years of daily armed confrontations in Mogadishu between Somali
government forces backed by African Union peace keepers on one side
and Al-shabaab militants on the other side.
The stadium is located in the Abdel Aziz district north east of the
capital where the worst battles were taking place since 2009, the
fighting which forcibly halted the construction work on the stadium
which was being reconstructed under the FIFA funded win in Africa with
Africa project that was intended to develop football facilities across
the continent.
The stadium changed hands several times, but it finally fell into the
hands of Al-shabaab militants late in 2009 and all building materials
at the stadium and other sporting equipment at stores were looted.
The Somali Football Federation is not yet sure who exactly looted the
stadium, but it was investigating to find out whether the Militants
did the looting or the Somali government forces were responsible for
the brutal act.
How ever on August 6 the Islamist militants vacated from their
positions in the capital including the Stadium Banaadir and the
Chinese-built Stadium Mogadishu which was once the largest and the
most beautiful football facility in Africa and the Arab world.
In less than 36 hours after the militant withdrawal, the Somali
Football Federation ‘SFF’ formed a special committee to re-examine the
extreme damage on both football facilities. The committee first went
to Stadium Banaadir in the northeastern side of the capital where
daily heavy armed confrontations were taking place since 2009.
Built in1956 the stadium Banaadir was being reconstructed under the
FIFA funded WIN IN AFRICA WITH AFRICA PROJECT when fighting broke out
between militants and Somali government forces in May 2009.
The Somali Football Federation president Said Mahmoud Nur who himself
visited the stadium says his federation will contact the
Netherlands-based construction company Green Field to ask it to send
engineers to evaluate the real situation of the stadium and how
heavily it was damaged.
Before fighting erupted in capital in May 2009 the construction job
was done by 50% but now the Somali Football Federation says there are
heavy damages on everywhere in the stadium and the Dutch construction
company will have to send engineers to evaluate the situation and what
is needed to be done to restart the reconstruction job as soon as
possible.
“Late in 1950s athletes from different African nations used to come to
stadium Banaadir for training sessions, but unfortunately now it has
such bad appearance and you can see cattle and sheep grazing in it”
the SFF secretary General Abdi Qani Said Arab told the media as tears
of agony just flew down on his cheeks as he was talking to the media.
The facility ‘Stadium Banadir’ was first named after the {Comitato
Olimpico Nazionale Italiano “CONI”} which built it for Somalia in
1956, but was later named after the Banaadir region where Somali
capital Moadishu is located and it became Banaadir Stadium.
Mean while the SFF’s special stadiums evaluation committee could not
visit the Chinese-built Stadium Mogadishu. The facility is now housing
African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu who set up a military base
there after the militant withdrawal on August 6 2011.
Somali Football Federation says it will write a letter to the African
Union to demand the vacation of the troops from the stadium and
surrounding areas so that the stadium will once again work for the
people.
Somali Football Media Department
+25250 930226 Office
+2521 235047 Office
+2521 600601 Fax
+2526 99969815 Cell
Email:[email protected]
Website:www.somsoccer.com
xafiiska wararka bartamaha muqdisho
