Mogadishu hosts football tournament

MOGADISHU - Anatolia News Agency

Players vie for the ball during a match in Mogadishu’s Ankara Stadium. AA photo

A football tournament has been organized between the offices of regional sub-governors at the Ankara Stadium, built by the Turkish Red Crescent Aid Society in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Ahmet Lütfi Akar, the chairman of the Turkish Red Crescent, and Wadajir Regional Sub-governor Ahmed Hassan Addu attended the inauguration of the event.

Prior to the tournament, a friendly match took place between young individuals staying in tents. Akar made the opening kick and the 40-minute friendly match resulted in a 1-1 draw.

“The stadium was full of animal bones and it was very dirty. There were children trying to play football on the bones. We turned the region into a stadium by establishing an incinerator for bones,”

Akar told reporters at the Ankara Stadium.

“We believe that, through sportive activities, we can establish a Somalia full of more peace,” he also said.