The visit was part of the SFF campaign to have the facility
free from military once again. After the hours-long visit the deputy minister
and SFF secretary General held a joint press conference to give details of the
importance of Monday’s visit to the Chinese-built facility.
"Today honourable deputy minister Bashir Mohamed Jama and
Somali Football Federation officials paid a joint visit to Stadium Mogadishu to
inspect this soccer facility and the entire sports village in a bid to know the
real situation of the sporting facilities” the Somali Football Federation
Secretary General told the media after the inspection has completed.
He noted that the ministry of sport accepted the call to
end the African Union troop occupation at all sporting grounds where the
ministry of sport and Somali Football federation want to be used for sports
purposes once again.
"The SFF announces here that there is a very developed
cooperation between the country’s ministry of sport and Somali Football
Federation, SFF recognizes that no goals can be achieved without the joint work
by the ministry and the country’s football Federation” secretary General Abdi
Qani Said Arab told the media. He praised the ministry for announcing to give Somali
football federation a land space in the city centre where the SFF intends to
build its headquarters this year.
For his part deputy minister for sport Bashir Mohamed
Jama who was leading the delegation of high profile sporting officials told the
joint press conference that he was very happy to do such visit to stadium
Mogadishu a long with the Somali football Federation officials.
"I would like to announce here in front of you that the ministry
is committed to respecting the rules and regulations of sport both locally and
internationally and as a ministry we will do all possible assistance to the
Somali Football Federation—please feel free to ask us all you need and we will
help you as much as we can” deputy sports minister and former football referee
Bashir Mohamed Jama told the media.
He thanked Somali Football Federation for the huge
activities it is carrying out in the country including the reconstruction of
the country’s old facility ‘Stadium Banadir’ with the assistance from the
international football federation FIFA.
On behalf of the ministry of sport Mr. Bashir Mohamed
Jama told the Somali Football Federation officials that his ministry will offer
them a land space in the city centre where SFF will build its new headquarters.
Now the SFF is based at a four-story building in the centre of Mogadishu but it
wants to build its own headquarters.
Meanwhile, the deputy minister noted that they had
established contacts with Chinese government which he said principally accepted
to rebuild Stadium Mogadishu and other formerly china-built Somali government
institutions.
"Although china accepted our demands principally, the
matter is still under process, but we will invite SFF and Somali NOC to our
next meeting with China to finalize the talks and to begin the reconstruction
of the destroyed government institutions” Deputy sports minister Bashir Mohamed
Jama told the media Monday.
However the deputy minister was accompanied by his
director General Aweys Sheik Hadad and other ministry officials, while Somali
FA president Ali Said Guled Roble, Secretary General Abdi Qani Said Arab,
executive committee member Ali Abdi Mohamed and deputy secretary General Abokar
Islow Hassan were representing the Somali FA in the visit.
Photos By Omar Ibrahim
Somali Football Federation Media Department
Email: somalifootballmedia@gmail.com