Stade Tata Raphaël


Stade Tata Raphaël is a multi-purpose stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Originally known as Stade Roi Baudouin when it was inaugurated in 1952 and Stade du 20 Mai in 1967, it was used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 80,000 people. The stadium also hosts other events such as the fights of boxer Jean Tshikuna alias "Tshikens" who will be the first Congolese boxer to become a professional evolving in Europe under contract, religious campaigns, concerts, leisure football, political events, awareness campaigns, etc.

History

The stadium's most famous event was The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman for the Undisputed WBC/WBA Heavyweight Championship that took place on October 30, 1974. 60,000 people attended the boxing match. In what was ranked as a great upset, Ali knocked out the previously undefeated Foreman in eight rounds. The associated music festival, Zaire 74, that took place at the stadium six weeks prior to the boxing match, included stars James Brown and B.B. King.
Following the downfall of President Mobutu Sese Seko's regime in 1997, the stadium was renamed Stade Tata Raphaël after Raphaël de la Kethulle de Ryhove, initiator of the stadium in 1952.
The stadium was the setting for a documentary film about Congolese women's boxing, Victoire Terminus.

In popular culture