National Stadium (Sierra Leone)


Siaka Stevens Stadium commonly known informally as National Stadium, is the national stadium of Sierra Leone, located in the capital city of Freetown. It is used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities. It is the largest and main stadium in Sierra Leone and has a 45,000 capacity.. The stadium serves as the exclusive home of the Sierra Leone national football team, known as the Leone Stars.
Several professional Sierra Leonean football clubs in the Sierra Leone National Premier League play their home games at the stadium. The stadium is also occasionally used as a venue for social, cultural, religious, political, and musical entertainment. the inauguration of a newly elected President of Sierra Leone is usually held at the stadium.
The Siaka Stevens Stadium is owned by the Government of Sierra Leone, and is operated, run and managed by the Sierra Leone Ministry of Sports, which is technically a part of the Sierra Leone Government.
The stadium is named after Sierra Leone's first president Siaka Stevens, who signed and approved the budget for the construction of the stadium in 1979.

History

Built in 1979 as Siaka Stevens Stadium, the stadium's name was changed in 1992 when a coup was launched by a group of young military officers which established themselves as the National Provisional Ruling Council. In 2008, fans called for the change of the name back to Siaka Stevens Stadium, citing a lack of sporting success since the change.
The previous stadium that was there was called Reckrie Stadium. It was completely demolished in the late 70s, and China won a contract to build a stadium originally named National Stadium. It was changed to Siaka Steven Stadium before the official opening 18 April 1979.