Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers in a Catastrophic State

Yesterday, Sunday, August 18, the supporters of Mouloudia Algiers were dismayed by the state of the Nelson Mandela Stadium, where their team was supposed to face the Liberian champion, Watanga. Not only was the pitch unplayable, as it had been completely neglected for more than two months, but it was mainly the stands, which resembled an open-air trash heap, that provoked the anger of the public. And to think that this stadium is presented by the Algerian authorities as one of the most beautiful jewels of sports infrastructure in Africa.

A few days before the opening of the sports season, Algiers has no football stadium, even though it has three major clubs in the first division. The July 5 Stadium, another football temple, is in the same situation. Its director, along with the director of Nelson Mandela Stadium, was dismissed yesterday. The Douéra Stadium, still brand new, allocated to the dean of Algerian clubs, Mouloudia Algiers, is also in a deplorable state. In Algeria, they don’t know how to maintain what they build at exorbitant costs.