The Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, also known as the Stade Me. Abdoulaye Wade, is a multi-purpose stadium, which can host football, rugby and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

, in

Diamniadio Diamniadio is a town in Senegal. History Diamniadio is a part of the collective development program of the government of Senegal under the leadership of President Macky Sall to revitalize Senegal's economy. The development of the new city is ta ...

, in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. It is the national stadium of the

Senegal national football team The Senegal national football team ( French: ''Équipe de football du Senegal''), nicknamed the ''Lions of Teranga'', represents Senegal in international association football and is operated by the Senegalese Football Federation. One of Africa' ...

. The stadium which has a capacity of 50,000 designed by Tabanlıoğlu Architects and built by

Summa Summa and its diminutive summula (plural ''summae'' and ''summulae'', respectively) was a medieval didactics literary genre written in Latin, born during the 12th century, and popularized in 13th century Europe. In its simplest sense, they might ...

. It will host the

2026 Summer Youth Olympics The 2026 Summer Youth Olympics (french: Jeux Olympiques de la jeunesse d'été de 2026), officially known as the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Dakar 2026 ( wo, Ndakaaru 2026), will be the fourth edition of the Summer Yout ...

Design

The stadium was designed by the Turkish architectural office Tabanlıoğlu Architects.

Construction

The stadium was built in 18 months by the Turkish construction company

. The construction covered an area of . The contract type was a design–build turnkey project.

Cost

The cost of the construction was reported to be 156 billion CFA francs ($270 million).

History

Inaugural match

The stadium was officially inaugurated by Senegalese President

Macky Sall Macky Sall (, wo, Maki Sàll, fuc, 𞤃𞤢𞤳𞤭 𞤅𞤢𞤤‎, italic=no, Maki Sal; born 11 December 1961) is a Senegalese politician who has been President of Senegal since April 2012. He was re-elected President in the first round voti ...

, in the presence of Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (born 1929), Turkish footballer * Recep Akdağ (born 1960), Turkish physician and poli ...

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

President

Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (; born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss football administrator with Italian citizenship and the current president of FIFA. He was elected President of FIFA during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February 2016. He ...

, Guinea-Bissau President

Umaro Sissoco Embaló Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embaló (born 23 September 1972) is a Bissau-Guinean politician serving as the president of Guinea-Bissau since 27 February 2020. He is a political scientist and military officer who previously served as prime minister bet ...

, Rwandan President

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...

, Liberian President

George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served a ...

and Gambian President

Adama Barrow Adama Barrow ( ff, 𞤀𞥄𞤣𞤢𞤥𞤢 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤪𞤮, Aadama Baaro, born 15 February 1965) is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village ...

. The first match was a game between a selection from various generations of the

against a selection of African football legends. The Senegalese team composed of player such as

El Hadj Diouf El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf (; born 15 January 1981) is a Senegalese former professional footballer. Throughout his career, Diouf played as a winger or a forward. Having started his professional football career in France with Sochaux, Rennes an ...

, Boubacar Sarr,

Demba Ba Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985) is a former professional footballer. He serves as the chairman of National Independent Soccer Association side ASC San Diego. He made his first-team debut with French team Rouen in 2005 before moving to Mouscron an ...

Mamadou Niang Mamadou Hamidou Niang (born 13 October 1979) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He has represented Senegal at international level, participating in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 African Cup of Nations. He is t ...

Moussa Sow Moussa Sow (born 19 January 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in France, he represented Senegal at international level, scoring 18 goals in 50 appearances. He was known for his bicycle kick goals and emotional reac ...

Lamine Diatta Lamine Diatta (born 2 July 1975) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a defender. He works as team coordinator of Senegal, appointed by head coach Aliou Cissé in 2015. Club career Born in Dakar, Senegal, Diatta moved t ...

Omar Daf Omar Daf (born 12 February 1977) is a Senegalese football manager and former player who is the currently head coach French Ligue 2 club Dijon. A Senegal international, he represented his country at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He also holds a French ...

Khalilou Fadiga Khalilou Fadiga (born 30 December 1974) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He also holds a Belgian passport. Club career Early career Fadiga moved to France when he was six years old. Fadiga began his ca ...

Oumar Sène Oumar Sène, (born 23 October 1959) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Sène was born in Dakar, Senegal. He won the Senegal Premier League 1980 with US Gorée. Later he played 197 times for French ...

, Thierno Youm, Racine Kane and

Souleymane Sané Souleymane "Samy" Jean Sané (born 26 February 1961) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the father of Germany forward Leroy Sané. Playing career Sané was born to Senegalese diplomats, and moved to F ...

. The other team consisted of players such as Samuel Eto'o,

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...

Yaya Touré Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is an academy coach for Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. Touré aspired to be a striker during his yout ...

Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Togolese Championnat National club Semassi. He previously played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur ...

Jay-Jay Okocha Augustine Azuka Okocha ( ; born 14 August 1973), commonly known as Jay-Jay Okocha, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played 73 times for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scorin ...

, Asamoah Gyan,

Patrick Mboma Henri Patrick Mboma Dem (born 15 November 1970) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the former all-time top goal-scorer for the Cameroon national team. Club career Born in Douala, Cameroon, Mboma sta ...

, Moustapha Hadji,

Samuel Kuffour Samuel Osei "Sammy" Kuffour (born 3 September 1976) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Known for his physical power, Kuffour is best remembered for his time with Bayern Munich, whom he represented for ...

Shabani Nonda Shabani Christophe Nonda (born 6 March 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Burundi, he represented the DR Congo national team, earning 36 caps and scoring 20 goals. He was selected for DR Congo's squad fo ...

and

Jonathan Pitroipa Beninwende Yann Jonathan Pitroipa (born 12 April 1986) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a winger. Since making his debut for Burkina Faso in 2006, he has featured at the 2010, 2012 and 2013 editions of the African C ...

. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. The rest of the ceremony was marked by cultural and musical performances by stars of Senegalese music,

Ismaël Lô Ismaël Lô (also Ismaël Lo; born 1956) is a Senegalese musician and actor. Life Lô was born in Dogondoutchi, Niger on 30 August 1956, to a Senegalese father and a Nigerien mother. Shortly after Lo's birth the family returned to Senegal wher ...

, Baaba Maal and

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

References

Athletics (track and field) venues in Senegal Football venues in Senegal National stadiums Sport in Dakar Multi-purpose stadiums Buildings and structures in Dakar Sports venues completed in 2022 2022 establishments in Senegal {{senegal-sports-venue-stub