With the international community eying on Somalia, the country’s transitional federal government {TFG} called on the international community to give a particular consideration to peace and sports promotion in the war-devastated horn of African country.
The newly-appointed Somali Youth and sports minister Mohamed Mohyaddin Sheik Musral delivered this call at a joint press conference with Somali NOC and Somali FA presidents at the destroyed stadium Banaadir north east of the capital Mogadishu on Sunday.
“On behalf of Somali government I am urging the international community in general and in particular the friendly countries and all who are interested in peace and sports development to help Somalia rebuild peace through sports-our country has been undergoing civil wars for more than two decades and now we need every possible assistance from the international community” the minister said.
“We are prioritizing football for peace programs, because we know that football is the people’s choice 95% and also it is the sole element that can bring more than a hundred thousand people at one place at the same time” the minister told journalists at Stadium Banaadir where the Somali Football Federation invited the Somali NOC and the ministry of sports on Sunday to study the real situation of the stadium.
President of Somali Football Federation Said Mahmoud Nur said that a day after Al-shabaab abandoned from Mogadishu his federation visited the stadium and Sunday’s tour was the second phase to evaluate the damage on the ill-equipped Banaadir stadium.
“Today we are very much happy to see the Somali sports ministry, Somali NOC and Somali Football Federation jointly working on the promotion of Somali sport” the SFF president noted. He said that SFF was waiting from Somali Sports ministry to have its role in the rehabilitation of the destroyed football facilities.
“This stadium was being reconstructed under the FIFA-funded WIN IN AFRICA WITH AFRICA PROJECT when Mogadishu fighting broke out in Mogadishu once again between Islamists and Somali government just nearly two and a half years ago, now we hope that reconstruction work will restart soon” the Somali Football Federation President Said Mahmoud Nur told the joint press conference, before handing over the microphone to Somali NOC president Aden Hajji Yeberow.
The Somali NOC president said that the Italian-built football stadium was the mother of Somali sporting facilities and once hosted training sessions for many African athletes, but unfortunately its shape totally changed after more than two decades of armed confrontations in the country.
“In Somalia sports is now recovering from years of conflicts, but the assistance from international community is very important for helping reconstruct our sport” the Somali National Olympic committee president said during Sunday’s press conference at Stadium Banaadir.
“Sport is the key to civilization, development and public integration, so we are calling on international community to help us in terms of sports promotion in the country” the NOC president emphasized.
The high level delegation from Somali government, Somali NOC and the Somali Football Federation also visited the compound of Somali youth and sports ministry, the First July basketball stadium and other key sporting locations in the northeastern parts of the capital Mogadishu.
