Senegal’s President, Macky Sall, was joined by a host of other world leaders this week to inaugurate a 50,000-seat stadium that will become the new home of the national football team and the centrepiece of the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
Sall was joined by the likes of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Adama Barrow of Gambia and football legend George Weah, who is now President of Liberia. Also in attendance at yesterday’s ceremony was FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Confederation of African Football (CAF) counterpart Patrice Motsepe.
A friendly match between a team of Senegal legends and an African all-star selection was part of the festivities. The stadium, located in the new city of Diamniadio, around 20 miles from the capital Dakar, was formerly known as the Stade du Sénégal, but has now been renamed Stade Me Abdoulaye Wade after Sall’s predecessor as President.
Turkish construction company Summa built the stadium at a reported cost of CFA156bn (£198.2m/€237.8m/$269.8m). In February 2020, Sall said Diamniadio was positioning itself as a “major sports centre” in Africa.
The facility also comes complete with two training grounds, one of which will be equipped with an athletics track and a 2,000-seat grandstand. The project will source its energy needs entirely from a solar power plant, with Summa landing the contract to develop it in January 2020.
