March 28 Stadium () is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, also known as Sports City Stadium. It is a part of Benghazi Sports City, used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches and also has

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

facilities. The stadium holds 65,000 spectators. It is sometimes used by the

Libya national football team The Libya national football team () represents Libya in men's international football and is controlled by the Libyan Football Federation. The team has never qualified for FIFA World Cup but has qualified for editions of the Africa Cup of Nations ...

, although it is not as popular as a football stadium as the Tripoli Stadium. The name of the stadium commemorates 28 March, when British forces were asked to relinquish their military base rights in Libya and leave the country. Along with then-called ''June 11 Stadium'', the 28 March Stadium hosted many games, including a semi-final, of the

1982 African Cup of Nations The 1982 African Cup of Nations was the 13th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of African nations run by the CAF. It was hosted by Libya. Just like in 1980, there were eight teams, which were split into ...

, held in Libya.

New stadium

In 2013, the stadium had been closed and demolition work had begun for the construction of a new stadium. The new stadium will be an 85,000 all-seater stadium. Thomas Phifer and Partners, a New York-based architectural firm won the international competition for its design. The construction work is part of a general restructuring of the entire Medina al-Riyadhia (Sports City) site in honour of the Libyan multi-millionaire owner Musbah for saving the club from all its debts. Work was expected to be finished in time for Libya's hosting of the

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...

,28 March Stadium
''kooora.com'' ] until the tournament was cancelled in August 2014. While construction has been taking place, Benghazi's football clubs have been using the

Martyrs of February Stadium Benina Martyrs Stadium (), until 2011 officially named Hugo Chávez Football Stadium (), is a Libyan football stadium located in Benina, a town 19 km east of Benghazi. The stadium was constructed by the same company that built the Brita-Ar ...

References

External links

Photo
a
worldstadiums.com

Photo of demolition and construction work at the site
Football venues in Libya Sports venues in Libya Athletics (track and field) venues in Libya Multi-purpose stadiums in Libya Buildings and structures in Benghazi {{Libya-sports-venue-stub