Stadiums and youth sport: Mogadishu's rebuild and new regional venues

Where Xidig members may contribute

These are learning and collaboration opportunities, not confirmed jobs or contracts.

• Facility management: maintenance plans, safety, ticketing and event operations.
• Coaching and sport science: youth coaching courses, referee training and athlete care.
• Community programmes: sport-for-development sessions for young people, including girls and displaced young people.
• Licensing standards: helping clubs and venues understand what CAF requires for international matches.

Possible services, research, supplier or collaboration roles

• Coaching clinics run with the federation, in person or online.
• A simple audit of existing grounds in regional towns, shared with the ministry.
• Event partnerships that bring diaspora teams to play in Somalia.

Who may find this useful

• Coaches, referees and sports administrators.
• Facility and event managers.
• Youth workers and community organisations.
• Engineers and architects with sports-facility experience.

What exists, and what is already happening

Mogadishu Stadium.

• History: the stadium opened in 1977 and was used as a military base in several periods up to 2018 (StadiumDB).
• New pitch (2020): an artificial-turf supplier reported installing a FIFA Quality Pro-certified pitch in early 2020.
• Matches return: a national tournament opened at the stadium on 29 December 2023. AP reported that "thousands poured into the stadium" for what it called the stadium's first soccer tournament in three decades.
• Rebuilding (2024): in October 2024 the Prime Minister laid a foundation stone. SONNA said the works would cover "the football stadium, Basketball, swimming" and that the project "will be invested by a company belonging to the youth". StadiumDB reported that "The investment is being supported by local businesses owned by young Somalis". Neither gave a cost or completion date.
• Use in 2025: the stadium hosted a match featuring Somali football legends in May 2025, promoted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
• Capacity: sources differ, from 35,000 (Eastleigh Voice) to 65,000 (StadiumDB and TRT Afrika).

Playing at home.

• National team: "Somalia last played on home soil on October 19, 1986", Eastleigh Voice reported in March 2024.
• Clubs: the same report said Somali clubs in CAF competitions "have hosted their home matches in Djibouti and Rwanda".
• Approval: Xidig could not open CAF's list of approved stadiums and found no report that a Somali stadium has been approved since.

Stadiums elsewhere.

• Dhusamareb: in July 2026 SONNA reported that the federal government had "pledged to rebuild the football stadium and the basketball court in Dhusamareb city as quickly as possible", adding that "The Ministry has not yet announced the timeline or scope of the reconstruction works."
• Youth centres: in February 2025 the Somali Football Federation opened youth development centres in Baidoa and Kismayo, for under-9 to under-15 age groups.
• Other capitals: Xidig found no reliable, current information on stadiums in the other member-state capitals.

Who is funding sport infrastructure.

• FIFA: its development programme, FIFA Forward, lists US$4,198,000 committed to infrastructure in Somalia, 91.6% of its commitments there. The outputs listed are two federation headquarters, one stadium and one technical centre. The page does not say which stadium or over what period.
• Earlier FIFA support: Banadir Stadium in Mogadishu was redeveloped under an earlier FIFA programme, and FIFA reported in 2017 that the federation had laid the foundation stone of its headquarters, "the first building owned by the federation in its whole history".
• Saudi Arabia: in November 2025 Somalia's and Saudi Arabia's sports ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on "reconstruction of sports stadiums in Somalia" and youth skills. It is an agreement in principle; no stadiums or amounts were named.

What this means (Xidig's interpretation). A rebuilding of Mogadishu Stadium was launched in 2024, reportedly with private money, so the government's rehabilitation proposal needs to be reconciled with that work. Its five-stadium proposal is small for its ambition: US$3M each fits a community ground more than a "modern stadium" of the kind needed for international matches. In both cases, running costs, maintenance and programmes for young people matter as much as construction.

Dependencies and implementation constraints

• Security at large public events.
• Operating budgets for maintenance, power and staff after construction.
• Land in each capital.
• Coordination between the federal ministry, member-state administrations, the football federation and private funders.

Risks and unknowns

• Unclear cost for the Mogadishu Stadium proposal.
• Overlap between the government's proposal and the privately funded rebuild.
• Underfunding: US$3M a stadium may not deliver "modern" venues.
• Maintenance: artificial pitches need regular care and replacement.

Questions members should verify before acting

1. What is the correct cost of the Mogadishu Stadium proposal?
2. How does the proposal relate to the rebuilding launched in October 2024, and who is funding that?
3. Which five capitals does the five-stadium proposal mean, and what already exists in each?
4. What would it take for a Somali stadium to be approved for international matches?

What is confirmed, and what isn't

Confirmed

• Both proposals and their printed costs and durations.
• The return of matches to Mogadishu Stadium and the October 2024 foundation stone.
• FIFA Forward's infrastructure commitment.
• The Dhusamareb pledge and the Saudi memorandum of understanding.

Our interpretation

• US$3M a stadium points to a modest ground.
• The rehabilitation proposal overlaps with work already under way.

Not yet verified

• The cost, funder and completion date of the current Mogadishu Stadium rebuild.
• Its capacity.
• CAF approval of any Somali stadium.
• The five capitals intended.

Relevant next steps

• Ask the Ministry of Youth and Sports to confirm the stadium cost and how the proposal relates to the current rebuild.
• Coaches and sports managers: contact the Somali Football Federation's youth centres.