National Heroes Stadium, Sports stadium in Lusaka, Zambia.
National Heroes Stadium is a 60,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Lusaka's Matero suburb, on the Great North Road. It has a natural grass pitch surrounded by a running track and is the home ground of the Zambia national football team.
Construction began in 2012 under a contract awarded to Chinese firms, with funding from the Zambian government and Chinese contributions. The stadium was completed in 2013 and opened in 2014. It was first named Gabon Disaster Heroes National Stadium, but public pressure led to the name being changed within a week. On 25 January 2015 it hosted the inauguration of President Edgar Lungu.
The name refers to the 1993 Zambia national football team air disaster, in which most of the squad died when their plane crashed off Libreville, Gabon. The stadium was first called Gabon Disaster Heroes National Stadium, but public pressure led the government to change it within a week. It stands beside Heroes Acres Memorial, where the players who died are buried.
The stadium sits along the Great North Road in the Matero area and can be reached by public transportation. You can access different sections of the venue depending on the type of event taking place.
The stadium stands next to Heroes Acres Memorial, where the players killed in the 1993 Gabon air disaster are buried. The site was first named Gabon Disaster Heroes National Stadium, but public pressure forced a change of name within a week.
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