Works at Machava stadium in full swing for Mozambique’s 50 years of Independence celebrations – Photos

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Works at Machava stadium in full swing for Mozambique’s 50 years of Independence celebrations – Photos

11:48 CAT | 26 May 2025

Photo: Lusa

The historic Machava Stadium, the site of the proclamation of Mozambique’s independence, has become a construction site, with preparations to celebrate the country’s half-century and resume sports after four years of inactivity in full swing.

Civil engineer Samuel Muzime, advisor to the board of directors of the Ports and Railways of Mozambique (CFM), owner of the stadium on the outskirts of Maputo, is coordinating the operation to rehabilitate the space that, on June 25, will host the celebrations of independence, proclaimed on the same day and in the same place by Samora Machel in 1975.

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Amidst the ceaseless hustle and bustle of work in the stands and surrounding area, which has been growing every week since September, the concern is to finish the work on time, as Muzime explained to Lusa.

“It really is everyone’s prime concern. We are putting all the pressure on to ensure that everything is in good condition, not so that the stadium is approved at CAF [Confederation of African Football] level, but we are creating conditions to accommodate the ceremony [of the 50th anniversary of independence]”.

“There is work that continues ‘after the fact’. So, this is our commitment, we are doing everything, and so far things are under control, so that there will be no problems by then,” he said.

Clube Ferroviário de Maputo, one of the several ‘Ferroviário’ clubs in the country supported by CFM, usually plays football at the Machava Stadium, but the multipurpose space has not been used for four years due to disrepair, and this is the first major intervention in over 50 years.

READ: Mozambique: Machava Stadium edges closer to comeback after $10 million-plus overhaul – Watch

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With an official capacity of 45,000 people, construction began in 1963 on a 30-hectare plot of land in Matola, and the then-named Estádio Salazar was inaugurated in 1968 with a historic football match between the Portuguese and Brazilian national teams.

In the same location, now called Machava like the surrounding neighbourhood, the first President of Mozambique proclaimed independence from Portugal on June 25, 1975. “This is the first state in which power belongs to us, this is our free and independent country, born of sacrifice, blood, and ruins,” proclaimed Samora Machel at the time, in a packed stadium that witnessed the birth of the new country.

Despite the historic moment, the stadium’s renovation will not only serve to celebrate June 25, when the so-called “Flame of National Unity” will arrive, having been touring the country since April 7. Work will continue and the expectation is that the stadium will be approved by the CAF to once again host national football matches, currently prevented from playing on national territory after the Zimpeto National Stadium in Maputo was closed, also due to lack of conditions.