AFCON: Côte d'Ivoire Inaugurates Its New Olympic Stadium

AFCON: Côte d'Ivoire Inaugurates Its New Olympic Stadium By Sampson Adedeji The Anyama-Ebimpé Olympic Stadium, named Stade Alassane Ouattara, one of the largest sports facilities in the West African sub-region with a capacity of 60,012 seats, was officially inaugurated on Saturday during a ceremony chaired by the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in the presence of thousands of football fans, BSNSports.com.ng reports This work which cost about 143 billion FCFA and which was carried out thanks to Sino-Ivorian cooperation, is the largest stadium in Côte d'Ivoire. "I am proud and happy of the Sino-Ivorian cooperation ... I am very touched by the honor that has been done to me", affirmed Mr. Ouattara in a speech. Continuing, he announced the construction of several other stadiums inside Côte d'Ivoire, notably in the cities of Bouaké, Korhogo, San-Pédro and Yamoussoukro to host the matches of the African Cup of Nations ( AFCON 2023) which will be organized by the country. To the thousands of young people who made the trip to attend the inaugural ceremony of this stadium, Mr. Ouattara asked them to take care of this sports infrastructure. "We give you this jewel knowing that you will take good care of it", said the Ivorian president. Before him, Claude Paulin Danho, the Ivorian Minister of Sports hailed, in turn, the cooperation between Côte d'Ivoire and China. “It is an architectural gem that results from the leadership of President Alassane Ouattara. The Ivory Coast is back in sport, ”said Mr. Danho. A gala match between Asec Mimosas and Africa Sports of Abidjan, the two most popular clubs in Ivorian League 1, closed the inaugural ceremony of the Alassane Ouattara Anyama-Ebimpé Olympic stadium. This derby between these two legendary teams from the Ivorian economic capital which aroused a lot of enthusiasm among the supporters of both teams, ended with the victory of Asec Mimosas over Africa Sports (2-0). The Alassane Ouattara Olympic stadium in Anyama-Ebimpé, with an investment cost of around 143 billion CFA francs, was financed by the State of Côte d'Ivoire and China, respectively to the tune of around 80 billion CFA francs and 63 billion Fcfa. It has a capacity of 60,012 places and comprises five levels, a height of 51.4 m and is completely covered and built on a total area of ​​61,250 square meters. It also includes two presidential lounges, an anti-doping control room. This sports book is part of the implementation of projects relating to the organization of the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON ) football in Côte d'Ivoire. To this end, an Olympic city should be built around this stadium over an area of ​​287 hectares. This project includes a 4-star hotel, a sports medicine research center and an auditorium with 5,000 seats.