Benina Martyrs Stadium
History
The stadium was originally named after Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, due to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's close friendship with him. However, following the Libyan Civil War, it was announced that the stadium had been renamed in honour of the so-called Martyrs of February, the people who were killed in fighting to gain control over Eastern Libya.
The stadium was opened on 5 March 2009, as the Libya U-23 team played the Syria U-23 in a friendly. A capacity crowd watched the match finish 2-1 to the Syrians, with Libya and Al Ahly Benghazi's Ihab Ghafir becoming the first player to score at the stadium, in the 28th minute.
The first goal to be scored at the new stadium in a competitive match was scored by Al Hilal's Alaa al Oujli in the 26th minute of their league match with Al Jazeera. The match ended 2-2.
The stadium was a confirmed venue for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations before Libya's role as host of the tournament was cancelled in August 2014.
The stadium hosted the national team's first game in Libya in eight years against Tunisia on 25 March 2021.
References
- ^ Benina Stadium at goalzz.com
- ^ Information about Benina Stadium at kooora.com (in Arabic)
- ^ Name of Benina Stadium revealed (in Arabic) kooora.com
- ^ Libya honours Chavez with stadium BBC News, 6 March 2009
- ^ New stadium in Benina named after Venezuelan president Archived 2009-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (in Arabic) 1 March 2009 Al Watan-Libya.com
- ^ Venezuela's Hugo Chavez loses Libya stadium honour - BBC News, 8 March 2011