The El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium is a multi-use

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

in Djibouti City, Djibouti. It is currently reserved mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

matches. The stadium has a capacity of hosting up to 20,000http://www.udj-djibouti.com/dji/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1464:djibouti&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=27 fans. The stadium was designed by prolific Malaysian architect, Michael KC Cheah. As of April 2007, the Stade has an

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

pitch courtesy of

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

's ''Win in Africa'' development programme. It is currently the home ground of the Djibouti national football team. The stadium is home to many sports federations in Djibouti, including the Djiboutian Football Federation.

History

The stadium opened on June 26, 1993. It is named after the first President of Djibouti, Hassan Gouled Aptidon. The facility was built with the assistance of Chinese engineers. Renovation work at the stadium commenced in 2002. The stadium has also benefited from the Goal program established by

. A new artificial turf was established again in 2007.

Infrastructures

The stadium includes an eight-lane athletic track and a synthetic turf. It has two stands, one covered, which can accommodate 10,000 spectators. The complex also has three rooms for the practice of martial arts and table tennis.

Competitions

It hosts meetings of the Djibouti football team, the Djibouti championship, cups and super cups and athletics competitions. The first official international match played in this stadium opposes Djibouti to the Democratic Republic of Congo during the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup on April 7, 2000. At the end of this match played in front of 2,700 spectators, the two teams split up on a draw, a goal everywhere. In athletics, it is the place of departure and arrival of the international semi-marathon of Djibouti which takes place each year in March.

References

External links

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worldstadiums.com
Football venues in Djibouti Athletics (track and field) venues in Djibouti Buildings and structures in Djibouti (city) Djibouti {{Djibouti-sports-venue-stub