Independence Stadium (Gambia)
| Independence Stadium | |
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| The Independence Stadium near Bakau | |
| Data | |
| place |
 Bakau , Gambia
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| Coordinates | 13 ° 28 ′ 7 ″ N , 16 ° 40 ′ 39 ″ W |
| owner | state |
| opening | 1984 / (1983?) |
| First game | November 13, 1984 |
| costs | 29 mil. € |
| capacity | 40,000 |
| Societies) | |
| Events | |
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The Independence Stadium (more rarely also Independence National Stadium ) is the only large stadium and thus the national stadium of the West African state of Gambia . It is located in the city of Bakau in the Greater Banjul Area administrative unit , about eleven kilometers west of the capital Banjul and about five kilometers north of Serrekunda . For international matches, Banjul is often given as the venue, but this stadium is meant.
The construction
The stadium, which can hold 40,000 spectators (according to other information only 25,000), was built by the Chinese as part of a development aid project, complete with a floodlight system. The stadium, which costs 38 million US dollars (equivalent to around 29 million euros), is often too small for international matches.
Before construction was completed in the early 1980s, the Box Bar Stadium in Banjul was used as the national stadium . The first game was played on November 13, 1984: It played in the SS Ceesay Trophy Final, the Banjul Hawks Football Club against the Starlight Gunners .
The use
The stadium is also used for cultural events, for example the Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour has repeatedly performed at well-attended concerts here.
The stadium is also used by the government to hold celebrations, for example on the national holiday , February 18th, Independence Day , or the day of the military coup under former President Yahya Jammeh , July 22nd. In 2004, ten years after the military coup, or as the Gambian government dubbed this day "10th Anniversary of July 22nd Revolution - a landmark of Development, Progress and Democracy under President Jammeh", celebrations with high-ranking invited guests took place in this stadium.
