Location | Bakau, Gambia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 13°28′7.7″N16°40′40.1″W / 13.468806°N 16.677806°W |
Capacity | 20,000 [1] |
Record attendance | 45,000 (Gambia vs Algeria, 8 September 2018) |
Field size | 105 m × 68 m |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Opened | 1984 |
Renovated | 2011, 2022–present |
Tenants | |
Gambia national football team (1984–present) Wallidan FC |
Independence Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Bakau, Gambia. It is currently used mostly for football matches, although it is also used for athletics, concerts, political events, trade fairs and national celebrations. The stadium holds 20,000 [2] people.
On 22 July 2004, heads of state and dignitaries from several African nations, and the Taiwanese prime minister attended a large parade to mark the tenth anniversary of the assumption to power of President Jammeh. [3]
On 18 February 2017 the 52nd Independence Anniversary Celebrations, and inauguration of Adama Barrow as President of the Republic of The Gambia, was held at the Independence Stadium Bakau, Gambia.
In June 2006, Andrew Hawkins (a descendant of England's first slave trader Sir John Hawkins) and 20 friends from the Christian charity Lifeline Expedition knelt in chains before 25,000 Africans to ask forgiveness for his ancestor's involvement in the slave trade.
Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy symbolically removed the chains in a spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness. [4] [5]
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.
Banjul, officially the City of Banjul, is the capital of The Gambia. It is the centre of the eponymous administrative division which is home to an estimated 400,000 residents, making it The Gambia's largest and most densely populated metropolitan area. Banjul is located on St Mary's Island, where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean.
Telecommunications in the Gambia includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.
The first written records of the region come from Arab traders in the 9th and 10th centuries. In medieval times, the region was dominated by the Trans-Saharan trade and was ruled by the Mali Empire. In the 16th century, the region came to be ruled by the Songhai Empire. The first Europeans to visit the Gambia River were the Portuguese in the 15th century, in 1447, who attempted to settle on the river banks, but no settlement of significant size was established. Descendants of the Portuguese settlers remained until the 18th century. In the late 16th century, English merchants attempted to begin a trade with the Gambia, reporting that it was "a river of secret trade and riches concealed by the Portuguese."
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is a Gambian politician and former military officer, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017, as well as Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council from 1994 to 1996.
Senegambia, officially the Senegambia Confederation or Confederation of Senegambia, was a loose confederation in the late 20th century between the West African countries of Senegal and its neighbour The Gambia, which is almost completely surrounded by Senegal. The confederation was founded on 1 February 1982 following an agreement between the two countries signed on 12 December 1981. It was intended to promote cooperation between the two countries, but was dissolved by Senegal on 30 September 1989 after The Gambia refused to move closer toward union. The Senegambia Confederation should not be confused with the historic Senegambia region, generally shortened to the Senegambia.
The Gambia national football team represents the Gambia in men's international football and is controlled by the Gambia Football Federation. Until 1965, the team and the country were known as British Gambia. The team has never qualified for the World Cup. In 2021, Gambia qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time in history. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Bunce Island is an island in the Sierra Leone River. It is situated in Freetown Harbour, the estuary of the Rokel River and Port Loko Creek, about 20 miles upriver from Sierra Leone's capital city Freetown. The island measures about 1,650 feet by 350 feet and houses a castle that was built by the Royal Africa Company in c.1670. Tens of thousands of Africans were shipped from here to the North American colonies of South Carolina and Georgia to be forced into slavery, and are the ancestors of many African Americans of the United States.
Bakau is a town on the Atlantic coast of Gambia, west of Gambia's capital city of Banjul. It is known for its botanical gardens, its crocodile pool Bakau Kachikally and for the beaches at Cape Point. Bakau is the first major suburb outside Banjul and the most developed town in the Gambia. Close to Bakau and Banjul is Gambia's largest city, Serekunda.
Lifeline Expedition is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 by Briton David Pott. The group believes white people must apologize for the Atlantic slave trade, and that forgiveness can be granted by black people from areas that were involved in it.
The Daily Observer is a newspaper published in Bakau in Banjul, the Gambia.
Fajara is a coastal suburb of Bakau in the Gambia.
The tourism industry today in the Gambia started when a party of 300 Swedish tourists arrived in 1965. That pioneering trip was organised by a Swede named Bertil Harding together with the tour operators Vingresor. It was seen as an ideal place to escape the harsh winter months of Scandinavia where Europeans would enjoy not only sun, sand and beaches but also experience the excitement of a real African holiday. It also offered a new opening for an affordable holiday to increasing numbers of traveling Europeans.
Maba Jahou Jobe was a Gambian politician.
Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof commonly known as Cham Joof or Alhaji Cham Joof, was a Gambian historian, politician, author, trade unionist, broadcaster, radio programme director, scout master, Pan-Africanist, lecturer, columnist, activist and an African nationalist who advocated for the Gambia's independence during the colonial era.
Gambia national under-20 football team is the U-20 football team of the Gambia and is controlled by the Gambia Football Federation. It serves as the youth team and feeder team of the Gambia national football team. They are nicknamed The Young Scorpions.
The Gambia–North Korea relations refers to the current and historical relationship between The Gambia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), known as North Korea in the Western World. Hong Son-phy is the accredited ambassador to Banjul.
Presidential elections were held in The Gambia on 1 December 2016. In a surprise result, opposition candidate Adama Barrow defeated long-term incumbent Yahya Jammeh. The election marked the first change of presidency in The Gambia since a military coup in 1994, and the first transfer of power by popular election since independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.
Adama Barrow is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017.
Fatoumata "Fatu" Camara is a television presenter and journalist from the West African state of The Gambia.