ACTUALITE |
19.04.2006
Yaounde Omnisports Stadium: Need to Modernise
Despite several renovation works, the stadium still lacks some basic facilities.
The Yaounde Ominsports stadium was constructed in 1972 to host the African Cup of Nations. Since then 70,000 capacitiy stadium has hosted several national and international encounters. Unfortunately, this sport facility, which had been the pride of most Cameroonians, has become a nightmare following the poor state of the stadium in recent years. It no longer meets international standards in the domain. The life span of the stadium was 50 years. But the stadium can be used for hundreds of years if renovation is properly done.
For the past 35 years, there has not been any major renovation except for the cleaning work to beautify the stadium during the organization of the Cup of Cameroon finals. The facilities at the stadium are not the best. There is no press section, scoring board and the stadium clock is not functional. According to the Director of the stadium, Bella Eves, the sports facility still has the capacity of hosting international competitions because it still fulfills the conditions for security for a match to be played.
An inspection visit by a delegation from FIFA last year approved of the stadium but asked Cameroon government to repair some of the installations in the stadium such as the dressing rooms, seats, toilets, etc. This was done. The turf had been repaired as well but does not yet meet international standards. This gave Cameroon the green light for Cameroon to host the eliminatory matches for the African Cup of Nations and World Cup. The Minister of Sports and Physical Education also gave instructions for the stadium to be repaired following the recent damage caused by heavy rainfall.
According to the director, there is still hope that the stadium can still serve the nation. "The stadium still has a future. That is why the Japanese the Japanese have decided to invest in renovating it," he said. Renovation work is expected to begin next year.
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Hits: 1 | Source:cameroon-tribune.cm | |
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