Cape Verde wants other aspects of sports cooperation with China

Cape Verde’s sports minister said on Tuesday that the country is in the process of transforming the National Stadium into a “house of sports” and expressed his willingness to develop other aspects of sports cooperation with China.

“It is a challenge to work together to develop other aspects of sports cooperation between Cape Verde and China, especially in that it will allow us to have a much more prepared human capital than we currently have,” said Carlos do Canto Monteiro.

In his speech at the re-opening ceremony of the National Stadium in Praia, the Deputy Prime Minister for Youth and Sports said that only the physical infrastructure, the requalification of which was financed by China, such as the original construction, would not be up to the task. country to achieve the desired level.

“And therefore, we commit ourselves, in addition to gratitude for the construction, to work hard to take advantage of this infrastructure, and also want to develop another dimension in sports cooperation with China,” the official insisted, pointing to the learning process in various modalities.

The National Stadium of Cape Verde is a €12.6 million project funded by China and opened on August 24, 2014 with a capacity of 15,000 spectators.

But since 2021, the African Confederation of Football (CAF) and the International Football Federation (FIFA) have no certificates to host national team matches, which first began to be played at the Adérito Sena stadium in São Vicente, which was also banned, and the last official games of the Blues sharks” were held outside the country.

The stadium has been undergoing a €406,000 renovation since last July, including the replacement of the synthetic turf, and the CAF has sanctioned the selection to return to Friday’s home game against Eswatini in the third round. qualifying for the African Cup of Nations 2024.

Improvements were also made to the athletics track, the grandstand, the painting of benches and equipment, the replacement of eight thousand chairs, the maintenance of generators, the replacement of the sound system, and work on the ramp for people with disabilities.

Another novelty at the National Stadium is a removable tunnel for access to the dressing rooms, a requirement of the sports regulators, as well as two more press booths and a space with a dining room, laundry room and kitchen.

“This is a new infrastructure that is part of a program to improve all the facilities installed at the National Stadium so that it is not only an infrastructure that can host competitions, but also take care of the dignity and comfort of those who use it. whether in training or in competition,” Monteiro said.

The Minister said that Cape Verde’s largest sports infrastructure hosts more than a thousand athletes a year, with training and championships in various forms, which, he stressed, require constant improvement in conditions.

And he announced that later this year the Center for High Performance Sports (CARD), which operated before Covid-19, will be reopened, and the Center for the Development of Athletics for Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOP) will also be opened.

Insisting on the need to strengthen other aspects, Carlos do Canto Monteiro also announced that a process has already begun, including with China, to build a nearby hotel for athletes, improve living conditions and transform the National Stadium into the “House of Sports” of Cape Verde.

Xu Jie, Chinese Ambassador to Cape Verde, said the National Stadium’s beautification work is part of new cooperation measures between the Asian country and the African archipelago in the field of sports air.

“China and Cape Verde maintain deep traditional friendship and fruitful cooperation in the field of sports, and both sides have established fruitful cooperation in the field of sports material assistance, participation of human resources and construction of sports infrastructure,” the diplomat listed.

The national stadium was built by China’s Top International Engineering Corporation on the outskirts of Praia and is also equipped with lighting towers, 80 surveillance cameras capable of covering 300 to 500 meters around, and a plaid track with eight runners. .

It is equipped with a physiotherapy room, rooms for the police, firefighters and doctors, as well as other sports agents, and outside space for throwing disciplines in athletics – javelin and discus.