National Stadium (Tanzania)

Tanzania National Main Stadium

Uwanja wa Taifa  (Swahili)
Aerial view of the stadium
Location in Tanzania
Address	Taifa Road
Location	Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Coordinates
Public transit	Kurasini Station (4 km)
Owner	Tanzanian Government
Operator	Tanzania Football Federation
Type	Multi-purpose stadium
Capacity	60,000
Field size	105 × 68 m
Surface	Artificial turf
Scoreboard	Yes
Construction
Broke ground	2005
Opened	2007
Construction cost	$56 million
Architect	WMS Architects (South Africa)
Main contractors	Beijing Construction Engineering Group
Tenants
Tanzania national football team, Simba SC, Young Africans FC

Tanzania National Main Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It opened in 2007 and was built adjacent to Uhuru Stadium, the former national stadium. It hosts major football matches such as the Tanzanian Premier League and home matches of the Tanzania national football team.

With 60,000 seats it is the eleventh largest stadium in Africa and the largest stadium in Tanzania. It is owned by the Tanzanian Government. The stadium was built by Beijing Construction Engineering Group at a cost of $56 million.

History

In 2000, President Benjamin Mkapa promised to build a state of the art stadium before the end of his tenure in 2005; saying that it was shameful for the country not to have a modern arena. In January 2003, the government announced a tender for the construction of a new stadium to replace the dilapidated Uhuru Stadium. Sports Minister Juma Kapuya said that the government had set a budget of $60 million and eleven companies had bid for the project.

In 2004, Vinci Construction, a French company won the tender with a bid of $154 million. Under pressure from the Bretton Woods Institutions, Tanzania reluctantly abandoned the project as it had received debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Program. Deborah Brautigam in her book The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa writes, "To the Bretton Woods Institutions, building a modern stadium in a poor country with an annual per capita income of $330 seemed a bit like the Romans building a new Coliseum with the barbarians camped outside the city wall."

In June 2004, Foreign Minister Jakaya Kikwete signed a $56 million contract with the Chinese Government, who provided a grant of about $20 million. A Chinese Embassy official described it as a "special aid project". Beijing Construction Engineering Group was awarded the contract. The International Monetary Fund objected that the cost had not been included in the country's annual Public Expenditure Review to its major donors.

In June 2006, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao paid a visit to the construction site. The Daily News reported that Tanzania contributed TSh 25 billion of the total cost of TSh 56.4 billion. In September 2007, the stadium hosted the Group 7 qualifying match between Taifa Stars and the Mozambican team for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.

It served as the end point for the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Dar es Salaam. Tanzania was the torch's only stop on the African continent. The stadium was inaugurated by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete during the former's state visit to Tanzania in February 2009.

Following the 2011 Dar es Salaam explosions at an army base, at least 4,000 people sought shelter at the stadium. China formally handed over the Phase I of the complex in July 2013.

Stadium

It has five main entrances, a car park for 600 vehicles, 114 closed-circuit television cameras, a VIP lounge and an extendable roof.

The pitch size, as lined for association football, is 105m long by 68 metres wide.

Future expansion

Phase Two of the project will entail the construction of an indoor stadium, warm-up ground and a sports village/college.

See also

• Stadium diplomacy

External links

• Have your say, BBC
• Tanzania vs Kenya Stadia comparison on YouTube
• Tanzania's New National Stadium and the Rhetoric of Development by Steve Sortijas
• Stadium images