Amman municipality revamping stadiums for U-17 Women’s World Cup

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality has started revamping sports facilities in the capital and floated four tenders for renovating several others in preparation for the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, a GAM official said on Saturday. 

Mahmoud Amoush, the competition’s project manager, said work is on track to prepare for the competition, which will shed more light on the Kingdom and its women’s sports. 

“Work on the facilities is expected to wrap up by mid-2016 as the competition kicks off later that year,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The municipality floated the four tenders, worth JD5.98 million, to rehabilitate the King Abdullah International Stadium in east Amman’s Qweismeh area and Khreibet Al Souk Stadium in Amman, the director of GAM’s supervision and projects department, Kamal Arafa, said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times. 

The first tender, worth JD2.6 million, will include rehabilitating the facilities of King Abdullah International Stadium, constructing a new 1,600-square-metre adjacent building, and rehabilitating the seating at the stadium.

Arafa noted that the tender will also include preparing a media building equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and offering a venue for press conferences and an area for commentators that will overlook the stadium. 

The second tender, worth JD650,000, will cover revamping the grass pitch, according to the statement. 

The third tender, which will cost JD2.4 million, will cover the rehabilitation of the Khreibet Al Souk grass pitch and boosting its infrastructure, while the fourth tender will include setting up a huge LED screen worth JD333,000 in accordance with FIFA standards at the King Abdullah International Stadium. 

Amoush said work has already started at the stadium while the tender of the Khreibet Al Souk pitch is in its final procedures. 

The Kingdom will provide four major stadiums to host the matches located in three cities — Amman, Irbid and Zarqa.

Amman International Stadium, located in Al Hussein Youth City, has a capacity of 13,000 spectators, while the King Abdullah International Stadium has a capacity of 12,000 spectators.

Irbid’s Prince Hassan Stadium, located at Al Hassan Sports City, has a capacity of 12,000 spectators and is located 88 kilometres north of Amman, while Zarqa’s Prince Mohammad Stadium has a capacity of 12,000 spectators and is 33 kilometres northeast of the capital.

A total of 16 teams will compete in the tournament, which will run for 22 days from September 30 to October 21.

Khreibet Al Souk will be among 17 training pitches the Kingdom has to provide during the global tournament, 16 for participating teams and one for referees.