Land has been identified for the construction of a multi-million dollar stadium, according to the minister of youth and sports.

In a chat with What's On-Gambia, Hon. Bakary Badjie said the land that has been identified by his ministry for the new stadium is located in the West Coast Region.

He disclosed: "The funds is what we are yet to have but the land has been secured and approaches have been made to our development partner countries:"

The minister added: "The construction of a new stadium requires having partners that can finance such a huge capital project."

Hon. Badjie also revealed that the Independence stadium, which was recently banned by CAF from hosting international games, will be modernized and brought to the required standards.

He said: "CAF has listed areas that need improvement. So we have tasked a team led by the Permanent Secretary and the General Manager of the Independence Stadium to look for experts to visit the stadium, do a study of the structural adjustments and others works needed, and cost it.

"Once that's completed, we will submit it to the government for action. We have been doing temporal fix but this time around we want to do a holistic work to enable us to use the stadium while government continues to engage partners for the possibility of a second stadium that meets modern standards."

Badjie was among dozens of international dignitaries who were in Dakar on Tuesday, February 22, to attend the inauguration ceremony of Senegal's newest stadium.