Akwa Ibom Stadium

Akwa Ibom Stadium

The Akwa Ibom stadium is a world class 30,000 capacity stadium that is considered one of the finest stadium(s) in Africa. The inauguration in 2014 hosted three heads of States – President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, John Dramani Mahama of Ghana and President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire.



“The stadium is a two-tiered structure that includes a 400m-running track for athletic events, and is the pilot part of Uyo Sports Park development. It sits on a 36.3 hectares of land and is enclosed by a white triangular-shaped outer covering that encircles the whole stands.



Its geometry is developed on the basis of a typical layout for multi-purpose stadia, with an arena with running track, and under consideration of optimal viewing for such sports as football and athletics.It is constructed to seat a little more than 30,000 spectators for soccer or track and field events. While the Grand Stand can comfortably accommodate about 7,500 spectators, including the VIP/VVIPs.Its East Stand and Curves have provision for approximately 22,500 people. The Governors’ Lounge is located in the Grand Stand on Level Two and has sitting capacity for between 30 and 40 VVIPs. Spaces to the left and right of the Governors’ Lounge are the VIP Lounges that can play host to 60 – 70 people.



The contract for the design of the stadium was awarded to Julius Berger a structural engineering firm based in Nigeria. They were responsible for the architectural design, execution planning, as well as constructional supervision of the stadium,as well as maintenance. The stadium which seats on 48 hectares of land has some unique features such as bullet proof VIP/VVIP sections, collapsable seats, two digital score boards, digital playback screens, digital flood lights, and 30 emergency exits.

The Akwa Ibom International Stadium meets the requirements of the International safety standards; it is equipped with emergency service units(to enable exit within 6 minutes), closed circuit security cameras as well as crowd control steel fencing. There are also stand-by fire fighting equipment and metal detectors which have been put in place to avoid any misfortunes. The stadium has been slated to host the AFCON qualifying series against South Africa on 17 November. Local team Akwa United moved into the stadium in 2015 when their ground was being brought up to code.