Stade 28 Septembre is a multi-purpose stadium in Conakry, Guinea. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 people.
In an attempt to host the 2016 African Cup of Nations (ANC), or Coupe d'Afrique des Nations (CAN) in French, proposals have been made to upgrade or reconstruct the September 28 Stadium to an all seater capacity of 75,000-80,000 people. Currently, a new all seater national stadium, with a capacity of 50,000-55,000, is being constructed in Nongo near Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea.
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The Stadium gets its name from September 28. The day Guinea voted famously NO in the French referendum, which ultimately led to the political independence of Guinea on October 2, 1958. Guinea-Conakry (formerly French Guinea) is the first former French colony in Sub-Saharan Africa to attain political independence.
On 28 September 2009 opposition party members demonstrated in the Stade du 28 Septembre, demanding that Guinean president Captain Moussa Dadis Camara step down. Security forces fired into the crowd killing 157 people and injuring 1,200.[1] In response to criticism from international human rights organisations, the government has said that only 56 people died and most were trampled by fleeing protesters.[2] The International Criminal Court is currently investigating the incident and the African Union has asked for Camara's resignation.[3]