Estadio de Malabo, National football stadium in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
Estadio de Malabo is a modern sports facility in central Malabo designed to host football matches and international competitions. The venue accommodates more than 15,000 spectators and features standard facilities for professional play.
The stadium opened in 2007 on the site of the original national stadium, where on 24 December 1969, 150 political opponents of President Francisco Macías Nguema were shot or hanged while Mary Hopkin's cover of "Those Were the Days" played over the speakers; the remaining 36 were buried up to their necks and killed by red ants. It hosted the 2008 African Women's Championship final and was a venue for the 2012 and 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Local football teams use the stadium regularly for league matches, creating an active sporting culture in the city. It serves as a gathering place where residents come to cheer for their teams and share their passion for the sport.
The stadium stands in the Atepa neighbourhood, a few kilometres from Malabo city centre, within a sports complex that also holds an indoor arena, four tennis courts, an Olympic pool, an artificial-turf training pitch, handball and futsal courts and the 100-room Hotel de Federaciones Malabo, which has a restaurant, cafeteria and wi-fi throughout.
The stadium stands on the site of the original national stadium, where on 24 December 1969, 150 political opponents of Francisco Macías Nguema were shot or hanged while Mary Hopkin's cover of "Those Were the Days" played over the speakers; the remaining 36 were buried up to their necks and killed by red ants. Claims that the executioners wore Santa Claus costumes are widely considered a fabrication.
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