Somalia’s minister for youth and Sports Honorable Khadija Mohamed Diriye, has on Sunday afternoon visited Stadium Banadir prior to the kick off of the 2nd edition of the country’s Inter-State football tournament.
The minister was accompanied in her visit by deputy minister, Ahmed Omar Islaw, director general of the ministry Isaq Hashi, Somali Football Federation senior vice president, Ali Abdi Mohamed, SFF general Secretary, Hassan Mohamed Mahmoud, SFF head of logistics, Abokar Islaw and the minister’s advisor, Ibrahim Hussein Ali.
The main objective of the stadium visit by the minister’s delegation was to ascertain the facility’s readiness to host the Somali Inter-State football competition which is scheduled to kick off on Thursday 7thof December.
Some decoration works have been under way at the Stadium for the past week, as part of the preparations for hosting the football event which will bring together six teams from regional semiautonomous states affiliated to the federal government of Somalia.
“Most of the repairing work has been done so far and I would like to share with the Somali people that the competition will start on December 7 as already planned and there will not be any postponement” Honorable minister, Khadija Mohamed Diriye told the media during her inspection visit to Stadium Banadir on Sunday.
“I would like to thank Somali Football Federation for embracing such hard work. I am expecting a beautiful beginning and a beautiful conclusion for the 2017 edition of the Inter-State football tournament” Honorable minister, Khadija Mohamed Diriye, stated.
“Some teams have arrived and are already accommodated in their respective hotels and the rest will all arrive in the capital tomorrow” the minister for youth and sports, told reporters.
Meanwhile the minister said that recently stadium Banadir hosted nighttime games for the first time in more than three decades adding that her ministry will help the Somali football federation continue playing nighttime games as normal.