Somalia Football Federation (SFF) president Abdiqani Said Arab believes the renovation and completion of the Mogadishu Stadium will help them cut costs.
The Somalia football national team has been hosting their matches in neighbouring Djibouti due to the issues of insecurity that has rocked the Horn of Africa country for the last three decades.
“The use of Djibouti for our home games means that Ocean Stars had travelled twice for every national duty which caused SFF to spend a lot, so the availability of Mogadishu Stadium will save money for Somali football federation,” Arab told the federation's website.
Arab has, however, noted the unavailability of more stadiums to complement the national facility is another issue but all in all he is optimistic that the multipurpose capital city-based facility will serve in the meantime.
“The country doesn’t have enough facilities and we are still eying to have more venues, but the most important thing is the return of Mogadishu Stadium which is the home of Somali national team and having it in place will also cover other major needs” Arab added.
The federation chief also noted the newly-renovated stadium will serve the fans better in the upcoming matches. Somalia, like its neighbours and global nations, suspended football activities due to the coronavirus outbreak a few months ago.
“Somalis are football-mad people and the re-launch of Stadium Mogadishu would mean that we will get enough space for the tens of thousands who turn out for football matches in Somalia- most notably the best-supported competitions," he concluded.
Somalia national team coach Said Abdi Haibeh revealed they are looking forward to matches at their home stadium which has not been in use for a very long time after it was captured and used by militants.
“The players and I are all looking forward to enjoying at home and play in front of tens of thousands of home-based Somali fans,” Haibeh said in an earlier interview.
“It was a great honour for me to be selected and act as the manager of the history-making Somali national football team last year. The players are well-prepared and ready for the national duties including international friendlies.
“However, I believe that the home atmosphere is going to be electric. This is the long-standing dream of Somali Football Federation authorities and it will soon be true if Allah allows.”
Mogadishu City Club and Horseed Sports Club featured in the opening match of the stadium on July 1.