Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Prime Minister, Hamza Abdi Barre, on Sunday broke ground for the revamp of Mogadishu’s iconic football stadium. This project, energized by youth-led investments, aims to breathe new life into the sports venue with a rejuvenated pitch, basketball courts, and a brand-new swimming pool.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the stadium’s renovation isn’t merely about sprucing up a playing field. He said, “Transforming Stadium Mogadishu is about sparking national progress. The facelift will brighten the city’s allure, offer job prospects for our youth, and give a jolt to both our economy and tourism sector,” he declared at the kick-off event.
Built during the ‘70s, Mogadishu Stadium was once the beating heart of Somali sports and cultural events.
However, fortunes changed sharply post-1991, when the government fell and the nation plunged into chaos. The stadium fell into disuse, taken over by various military factions. Ethiopian forces seized it in the late 2000s. Between 2009 and 2011, extremist group Al-Shabaab linked with Al-Qaida had control, accelerating the site’s dilapidation. Most recently, from 2012 to 2018, African Union peacekeepers occupied it as a strategic hub amidst Somali operations.
Such occupation took its toll on the structure, morphing it into a symbol of division and loss for a country aiming for a fresh identity.
Today, with new renovations underway, it’s back to hosting national sports competitions, reviving its status as a focal sports arena.
This renovation forms part of a larger cultural rejuvenation in Somalia, where sports are seen as a bridge over fractured communal divisions. In a nation split by clans and marred by prolonged conflict, football and similar sports hold promise as unifiers of the populace.
In PM Barre’s words, the stadium will be a host for national tournaments that unify teams from all parts of Somalia. “This venue is more than a sports ground—it’s a gathering place for solidarity. It marks a step in weaving back Somalia’s social threads,” he stated.
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
