Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium Explained

Stadium Name:Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium
Location:Bauchi
Coordinates:10.3199°N 9.8356°W
Opened:1985
Tenants:Wikki Tourists
Seating Capacity:11,000

Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Bauchi, Nigeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of the Wikki Tourists. The stadium has a capacity of 11,000 and was opened in 1985 and named after Nigeria's first prime minister, Tafawa Balewa.[1] [2]

Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium was one of the 8 venues used for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria, hosting 3 matches.[3] Its first game at the tournament between Nigeria and Argentina at the group stage recorded an attendance of 11,467 people.[4]

Distinguishing features of the stadium include a world-class FIFA standard scoreboard, LED display and energy saving floodlights, closed-circuit television (CCTV) for security surveillance, and an ultra-modern media centre. It also houses an Olympic-size 10-lane swimming pool.[5]

Notable matches

1999 FIFA World Youth Championship

Date Team 1 Result Team 2 Attendance Round
8 April 19993–19,000Group E
11 April 19991–3
2–0
15 April 19991–1 8,000Round of 16

2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup

Date Team 1 Result Team 2 Attendance Round
30 October 20091–211,467Group A
5 November 20091–1 11,589Round of 16
8 November 20091–1 11,532Quarter-final

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Abubakar Tafewa Balewa Stadium. glimpse.ng. 2 December 2021.
  2. Web site: Bauchi Awards N140m Contact For Renovation Of ATB Stadium. 19 January 2017. theeagleonline.com.
  3. Web site: FIFA.com. FIFA U-17 World Cup 2009 - Swiss take their place in history . https://web.archive.org/web/20191019023838/https://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/archive/nigeria2009/. dead. October 19, 2019. 2020-12-18. www.fifa.com. en-GB.
  4. Kriete. Horst. 2009. FIFA u-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009: Technical Report and Statistics. 2022-06-19. 2019-02-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20190213021123/https://resources.fifa.com/. dead.
  5. Web site: Hotels.ng. Abubakar Tafewa Balewa Stadium. 2020-12-19. Hotels.ng. en.