Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium
| Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium | |
|---|---|
| Data | |
| place |
 Bauchi , Nigeria
|
| Coordinates | 10 ° 19 '10 " N , 9 ° 50' 7" E |
| opening | 1963 |
| Renovations | 1983-1986, 1998, 2009 |
| capacity | 25,000 |
| Societies) | |
| Events | |
The Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium (English Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium ) is a stadium in Bauchi , Nigeria . It holds 25,000 spectators and is currently mainly used as a football stadium. The local football club Wikki Tourists plays its home games in the stadium.
The stadium was built in 1963 and initially served as the venue for the Bauchi Railway Football Club . From 1964 to 1966, the facility was expanded into a provincial stadium. A further expansion took place from 1983 to 1986 when a new grandstand was built, a tartan track was laid out and an electronic scoreboard was installed. In the years that followed, this state of construction was retained until the Nigerian government took over the stadium in 1998 and modernized it again for the 1999 World Youth Championship . A total of four games of the Junior World Cup took place in the Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in 1999 .
When Nigeria was awarded the contract to host the U-17 World Cup in 2009 , the government of the state of Bauchi applied to play another FIFA tournament at the Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium. After the contract was awarded, the stadium was again adapted to the current technical standards. The playing area was converted into an artificial turf pitch , an LED display board was installed and the floodlight system was expanded. A total of three games took place in the stadium at the U-17 World Cup .