Africa’s “stadium of horror” is reborn: Attention has fallen to the stadiums that will host AFCON 2019, but one of them holds a special place in the heart of every Egyptian football fan: Cairo International Stadium, a.k.a as the stadium of horror because of the special atmosphere fans create in it which helped Egyptian clubs and national teams win titles and dominate African football. Inaugurated as a 74,000 seater in 1960 by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the stadium was named for the president and opened with celebrations of the eighth anniversary of the 1952 Revolution, according to Al Ahram Weekly. The stadium, built at a cost of EGP 3 mn over three years, was the biggest in Africa and the Middle East at the time, and boasted an electronic Arabic-English scoreboard and four massive floodlight towers. It was renamed Cairo Stadium in 1970.

Gone are the days when fans would squeeze on sitting benches to fill the stadium beyond its capacity. The Cairo sports landmark has underwent major renovations in 2004 and 2008 to become an all-seater stadium in order to host major tournaments, like AFCON 2006, and the FIFA U-17 and FIFA U-20 in 1997 and 2009 respectively. Fans can expect a totally different experience with a metro station functioning just outside the stadium, with new seats, new pitch improved facilities and even newly-painted residential blocks surrounding it and newly paved roads. We are looking forward to see the stadium come back to life after being closed for long months. This year’s tournament is just the latest chapter in the long and eventful life of one of Cairo’s great landmarks.