The Somali Football Federation has asked the African Union troops to leave the national stadium so it may be used for sporting events. An SFF official told BBC the request was made on an official visit to inspect the stadium on Tuesday. He said they formally requested that the stadium, an impressive sports complex when it was built by the Chinese in the 1970s, be returned to its intended use.

Although there are occasional unrest since the militants withdrew, there has also been some development in restoring the battle-scarred city as security situation continues to improve in Mogadishu. With the election of a new President, it is evident that progress in also being made on the political front as this is the first fair poll in Mogadishu in over 42 years.

Al-Shabab, which has banned the playing and watching of football in its territory, has lost all the major towns it once controlled over the last few months.But the militants still controls large areas of southern and central Somalia.