Independence Stadium is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. It was originally built in the mid-1960s for use in hosting the country's independence celebrations. It is currently used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

matches. The stadium holds 30,000 people. It is located adjacent to the

National Heroes Stadium Heroes National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Lusaka, Lusaka Province, Zambia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of the Zambia national football team. The stadium holds 60,000 spectators. It op ...

. In 2004, the stadium was closed by the then national sports minister citing safety concerns due to the age and status of the building. The order was repealed in 2005, though safety concerns remained. As of 2007, the aging stadium is slated to undergo renovations to bring its structure and facilities up to internationally accepted standards as well as deal with its various safety issues.Govt sets aside K30bn for Independence Stadium works
. www.ThePostZambia.com, February 13, 2007. - Retrieved: August 9, 2007. The stadium's west grandstand was demolished in late 2007. A new 70,000-seat stadium, currently referred to as New Lusaka Stadium, would have been built next to the Independence Stadium for Lusaka's hosting of the

2011 All-Africa Games The 10th All-Africa Games took place between September 3–18, 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique. Maputo's hosting marked the third time the Games was held in the southern part of the continent. Host awarding In April 2005, Lusaka, Zambia was named t ...

before Lusaka withdrew its hosting duties due to lack of funds. The games were given to Maputo.

References

Football venues in Zambia

Multi-purpose stadiums in Zambia Buildings and structures in Lusaka Sport in Lusaka Sports venues completed in 1964 1964 establishments in Zambia {{Zambia-sports-venue-stub