Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Stade Tata Raphaël

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Surface
  
Synthetic Lawn

Capacity
  
50,000

Opened
  
1952

Stade Tata Raphaël

Former names
  
Stade Roi Baudouin (1952–1967) Stade du 20 Mai (1967–1997)

Location
  
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Address
  
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Teams
  
AS Vita Club, Daring Club Motema Pembe

Similar
  
Stade des Martyrs, Stade Frederic Kibassa, Pool Malebo, Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Stade 24 Novembre

Stade Tata-Raphaël (Father Raphael Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Originally known as Stade Roi Baudouin (King Baudouin Stadium) when it was inaugurated in 1952 and Stade du 20 Mai (20 May Stadium) in 1967, it was used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a maximum capacity of 50,000 people.

Contents

History

The stadium's most famous event was The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman for the Undisputed WBC/WBA Heavyweight Championship that took place on October 30, 1974. In what was ranked as a great upset, Ali knocked out the previously undefeated Foreman in eight rounds. The associated music festival, Zaire 74, that took place at the stadium six weeks prior to the boxing match, included such stars as James Brown and B.B. King.

Following the downfall of President Mobutu Sese Seko's regime in 1997, the stadium was renamed Stade Tata Raphaël after Raphaël de la Kethulle de Ryhove, initiator of the stadium in 1952.

The stadium was also the setting for a documentary film about Congolese women's boxing, Victoire Terminus (2008).

  • Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible (1998), includes a passage describing the Rumble in the Jungle taking place at the Stade du 20 Mai (20 May Stadium) while political prisoners are locked up downstairs.
  • References

    Stade Tata Raphaël Wikipedia