Fact-check: This picture isn’t of an Olympic stadium design to be built in South Sudan

This image is of an  Egyptian Olympic Stadium design and not South Sudan.

Writer Doki Simon James 

A Facebook post by Ruweng Eye on 29 September 2023 with the picture of an Olympic City stadium design allegedly to be built in a new administrative capital in South Sudan is false.

The post‘s caption, shared by Ruweng Eye, reads in part, “The stadium’s design was inspired by the South Sudanese Royal necklace. South Sudan aims to become the first African country to host the Olympic Games in 2036.”

This post generated 292 reactions, 47 comments and one share.

The picture of the Olympic Stadium design

Screenshot of the Facebook post published by Ruweng Eye

Claim Verification:

On conducting a Google Reverse Image Search, the picture was found to have been circulated earlier by sports and news websites from across the African continent. These include FootballAfrica on Reddit, African Soccer Updates on Twitter and Basic Sports Network in Nigeria website, all confirming the stadium was built in Egypt and not South Sudan.

On 28 June 2023, FootballAfrica, Basic Sports Network in Nigeria and African Soccer Updates all posted the same image on their official account pages with the below captions:

FootballAfrica on Reddit

“The New Administrative Capital Stadium is almost complete, with an expected capacity of over 94,000 people. It will be the largest stadium in Egypt and the second largest in Africa, and is expected to replace Cairo International Stadium as the new Egyptian National Team stadium.”

Basic Sports Network in Nigeria shared the same picture made  by Sampson Adedeji on their website with the caption “Egypt Set To Complete 2nd Largest Stadium In Africa.”

African Soccer Updates on Twitter 

“The New Administrative Capital Stadium is almost complete, with an expected capacity of over 94,000 people. It will be the largest stadium in Egypt and the second largest in Africa, and is expected to replace Cairo International Stadium as the new Egyptian National Team stadium.”

The post claim made by Ruweng Eye used the flag symbol of Egypt before the name South Sudan, which shows a fabrication of information.

Conclusion:

211 Check finds the claim made by Ruweng Eye of an Olympic stadium being built in a new administrative capital in South Sudan false.

The picture and the text claims were of a new national stadium currently under construction in Cairo, Egypt, with an expected completion date in 2024.

A publication under 211 Check’s ‘Fact-check for a pay’ Initiative with Support from the International Fact-checking Network through the BUILD grant.

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