Two years after Ethiopian military occupation a high level delegation from Somali football federation early on Thursday morning visited the nation’s largest football site the Stadium Mogadishu as Ethiopian forces vacated from it on Wednesday.

The delegation led by the SFF first vice president Ali Said Guled held a crucial meeting with Islamic courts spokesman Sheik Abdi Rahiin Isse Addo who said that the stadium is a public place and that young Somali people are free to play there again

“This field is for sports not for military and from now on I tell with a loud voice that Stadium Mogadishu is free from Ethiopian occupation and every sports-loving individual can come and play again” Spokesman for the Islamic courts fighters Sheik Abdi Rahiin Isse Addo told Somali football federation leaders during a meeting at the Stadium Mogadishu early on Thursday morning.

Somali football federation first vice president Ali Said Guled thanked the Islamic courts for handing the stadium over to the federation and he called for an early landmine investigation operation at the Stadium and surrounding areas.

“This was a military base for a period of two years and there may be mines, bombs and small arms in and outside the stadium and that will danger the civilians who are coming here to play” the Somali football federation vice president added during his Thursday’s meeting with the Islamist spokesman in the presence of heavily armed Islamic militias.

Built by the Chinese government in 1978, Somalia’s Olympic Village, where the nation’s largest football stadium “Mogadishu stadium” is located was being used as a military base by the Ethiopian forces who completely withdrew from the capital on Wednesday.

Somali Olympic village hosted many international sporting games such as the 8th Arab Students’ Games, East-central African Nations Cup, East-central African Champion Teams competition and many others.

How ever Stadium Mogadishu which was once one of the largest and most beautiful sporting sites in Africa and the Arab world is currently like a jungle and needs hard work to reconstruct.

Somali football press department

Contact: Somalifootballmedia@gmail.com