Sousse Olympic Stadium
Cemetery of the invaders
LocationSousse, Tunisia
Coordinates35°49′24″N 10°36′46″E / 35.82333°N 10.61278°E / 35.82333; 10.61278
OwnerGovernment of Tunisia
Capacity50,000[1]
Field size105 m × 65 m
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened1973
Renovated1994
2019–2024
Expanded1999
2019–2022
Tenants
Étoile du Sahel

The Sousse Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Sousse, Tunisia. It is used by the football team Étoile du Sahel, and was used for the 2004 African Cup of Nations. The stadium hose a capacity of 50,000 after the most recent renovation works. It hosts within it the meetings played by the football team of the city: Étoile Sportive du Sahel (ESS).

It hosted 1977 FIFA U-20 World Cup, 1994 African Cup of Nations, 2001 Mediterranean Games and 2004 African Cup of Nations.

History

For many decades, Sousse footballers knew only the clay surfaces and knew the turf surfaces only when the stadium was inaugurated with an initial capacity of 10,000 places. The last expansion was carried out in 1999 to bring the capacity of the stadium to 28,000 seats for the 2001 Mediterranean Games. The stadium has yet to be expanded to reach the capacity of 49,000 seats after the announcement the president of the club Moez Driss in 2008. The Olympic Stadium of Sousse also hosted some of the Libyan national team’s matches due to the Libyan war, such as Libya and Rwanda in the 2018 World Cup qualification.

Renovation

In November 2017, on a visit to the President of the Republic, Beji Caid Essebsi, to Sousse, he gave an indication of the beginning of the expansion of the stadium and thus in March 2019, in order to be able to accommodate 40,000 spectators instead of 28,000. The cost of completing the total works was estimated at 32 million dinars, including 4 million dinars as a contribution from the Municipality of Sousse and 2 million dinars from the contribution of the team and coastal and is expected to include the expansion of the stadium, which will extend for 27 months.

Tunisia national football team

Sousse Stadium exterior.

The following national team matches were held in the stadium.

#DateScoreOpponentCompetition
1.23 March 19831–0 MoroccoFriendly
2.2 January 19952–0 EgyptFriendly
3.6 October 19962–0 Sierra Leone1998 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4.2 May 19981–1 GeorgiaFriendly
5.12 August 20090–0 Ivory CoastFriendly
6.29 May 20113–0 Central African RepublicFriendly
7.3 June 20115–0 Chad2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
8.14 November 20121–2  SwitzerlandFriendly
9.6 July 20130–1 Morocco2014 African Nations Championship qualification

Major tournaments

1977 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Stade Olympique de Sousse served as a venue for the tournament. It hosted all the matches of Group C. The games were:

Date Time Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round
27 June 197712:00 Italy1–1 Ivory CoastGroup C
27 June 197716:00 Brazil5–1 IranGroup C
30 June 197712:00 Iran0–0 ItalyGroup C
30 June 197716:00 Ivory Coast1–1 BrazilGroup C
3 July 197712:00 Iran3–0 Ivory CoastGroup C
3 July 197716:00 Brazil2–0 ItalyGroup C

1994 Africa Cup of Nations

Stade Olympique de Sousse served as a venue for the tournament. It hosted six matches of the group stage, and two matches of quarter-finals. The games were:

Date Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
27 March 1994 Ivory Coast4–0 Sierra LeoneGroup C10,000
27 March 1994 Ghana1–0 GuineaGroup D10,000
29 March 1994 Zambia0–0 Sierra LeoneGroup C6,000
29 March 1994 Senegal2–1 GuineaGroup D6,000
31 March 1994 Zambia1–0 Ivory CoastGroup C6,000
31 March 1994 Ghana1–0 SenegalGroup D6,000
3 April 1994 Zambia1–0 SenegalQuarter-finals8,000
3 April 1994 Ghana1–2 Ivory CoastQuarter-finals8,000

2001 Mediterranean Games

Stade Olympique de Sousse served as a venue for the tournament. It hosted all the matches of Group B. The games were:

Date Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round
5 September 2001 Greece1–2 TurkeyGroup B
9 September 2001 Turkey1–1 LibyaGroup B
11 September 2001 Greece1–0 LibyaGroup B

2004 Africa Cup of Nations

Stade Olympique de Sousse served as a venue for the tournament. It hosted four matches of the group stage, and one match of semi-finals. The games were:

Date Time Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
25 January 200419:00 Cameroon1–1 AlgeriaGroup C20,000
29 January 200419:00 Algeria2–1 EgyptGroup C15,000
3 February 200414:00 Algeria1–2 ZimbabweGroup C10,000
4 February 200418:00 Morocco1–1 South AfricaGroup D6,000
11 February 200419:00 Morocco4–0 MaliSemi-finals15,000

References

  1. ↑ "Stade olympique de Sousse : Fin des travaux d'extension en mars 2022, promet Deguiche".
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