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Stadium

Stade Général Mathieu Kérékou

Cotonou, Benin

Formerly: Stade de l'Amitié

On the map
Children practicing skating at the Stade de l’Amitié Général Mathieu Kérékou in Cotonou, Benin
Children practicing skating at the Stade de l’Amitié Général Mathieu Kérékou in Cotonou, Benin Adoscam · CC BY-SA 4.0
Stade Général Mathieu Kérékou, Cotonou, Benin
Stade Général Mathieu Kérékou Joelflorentinpereira · CC BY-SA 4.0
Front of the sports hall of the General Mathieu KéréKou stadium in Cotonou, Benin. view taken from the stairs at the entrance to the sports hall.Built in November 1982, it is being rehabilitated
Front of the sports hall of the General Mathieu KéréKou stadium in Cotonou, Benin. view taken from the stairs at the entrance to the sports hall.Built in November 1982, it is being rehabilitated Adoscam · CC BY-SA 4.0

The ground in Cotonou carries weight for two reasons: it is the largest stadium in Benin. The modernisation completed in 2021 changed the character of the place.

The stadium fell silent after June 2023. A crowd crush at the exit gates during a qualifier against Senegal claimed two lives and exposed the fragility of the security arrangements. The incident was not a failure of the new construction, but of the old management. The governing bodies withdrew their approval. The stadium lost its status.

What remains is a place that holds on grimly. The government initiated a new round of rehabilitation in late 2024, a quiet effort to restore the lost licences. You can feel the pressure in the silence between the crowds.

Stade Général Mathieu Kérékou is a structure that has lived through several lives. It was opened as Stade de l'Amitié, then renamed for a president who died in 2015. Now it is a stadium in transition, its future uncertain.

Who plays here

Recent matches here

Date Match Score
8 Sep Benin U20 Women — Argentina U20 Women 0:8