March 28 Stadium ( ar, ملعب 28 مارس) is a multi-purpose stadium in

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη ('' Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghaz ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, also known as Sports City Stadium. It is a part of Benghazi Sports City, 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 ...

matches and also has

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), competi ...

facilities. The stadium holds 65,000 spectators. It is sometimes used by the

Libya national football team The Libya national football team ( ar, منتخب ليبيا لكرة القدم) represents Libya in men's international association football and it is controlled by the Libyan Football Federation. The team has never qualified for FIFA World Cu ...

, although it is not as popular as the

Tripoli Stadium The Tripoli International Stadium ( ar, ملعب طرابلس) is a multi-purpose stadium in Tripoli, Libya. It can hold 65,000 spectators. It is the main venue used by the Libyan national football team in its FIFA World Cup and African Nations C ...

. The name of the stadium commemorates 28 March, in which British Forces were asked to relinquish their military base rights in Libya and leave the country. Along with then-called ''June 11 Stadium'', the 28 March Stadium hosted many games, including a semi-final, of the

1982 African Cup of Nations The 1982 African Cup of Nations was the 13th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of African nations run by the CAF. It was hosted by Libya. Just like in 1980, there were eight teams, which were split into ...

held in Libya.

New stadium

In 2013, the stadium had been closed and demolition work had begun for the construction of a new stadium. The new stadium will be an 85,000 all seater stadium. Thomas Phifer and Partners, a New York-based architectural firm won the international competition for its design. The construction work is part of a general restructuring of the entire Medina al-Riyadhia (Sports City) site in honour of the Libyan multi-millionaire owner Musbah for saving the club from all its debts. Work was expected to be finished in time for Libya's hosting of the

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...

,28 March Stadium
''kooora.com'' ] until the tournament was cancelled in August 2014. While construction has been taking place, Benghazi's football clubs have been using the

Martyrs of February Stadium Benina Martyrs Stadium ( ar, ملعب شهداء بنينة) and until 2011 officially named Hugo Chávez Football Stadium ( ar, ملعب هوغو شافيز), is a Libyan Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium located in Benina, a town 19 ...

References

External links

Photo
a
worldstadiums.com

Photo of demolition and construction work at the site
Football venues in Libya Sports venues in Libya Athletics (track and field) venues in Libya Multi-purpose stadiums in Libya Buildings and structures in Benghazi {{Libya-sports-venue-stub