Why plans for new stadium are sparking controversy in Egypt
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's call for a new stadium to be built in the city of Port Said has drawn criticism, with some accusing the government of attempting to erase the memory of the deadly riot that occurred at a soccer match in the city in 2012.
During a meeting with Minister of Youth and Sports Khaled Abdul-Aziz on Aug. 20, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued instructions for conducting a study on the construction of a new stadium in the city of Port Said to provide distinguished sports services to the people of the province.
The president’s step seemed surprising, especially since Port Said is one of Egypt’s least-populated governorates (home to about 686,000 people) and already has one large stadium. Moreover, the construction of a new stadium in the city was not within the list of projects submitted by the sports minister at the Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in March 2015, which discussed the construction of stadiums in the governorates of Matrouh, the Red Sea, South Sinai and Luxor, among others.
Sisi did not specify an exact date for the completion of the new stadium, according to Ali Abu Samra, the head of the Youth and Sports Directorate in Port Said. Abu Samra told Al-Monitor that the directorate has prepared a list of several sites suitable for construction, noting that construction is unlikely to be completed before at least five years.
Abu Samra does not see the new stadium in the city as an attempt to cover up the effects of the 2012 riot that erupted in the current stadium or as an additional luxury for the people of Port Said, but rather as a necessity — especially in light of the poor state of the current stadium, which is in need of urgent renovation and upgrading. He predicted that all sports activities, in particular games of Port Said-based Al-Masry soccer club, will be transferred to the new stadium upon its completion.
