ISTANBUL
A new football stadium in Istanbul has been inaugurated by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Speaking at the opening ceremony late on Saturday of the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium, named after the current coach of the Turkish National Turkish football team, Erdogan said the grounds in the district of Basaksehir had cost about 178 million lira ($85 million).
After the ceremony, Erdogan – who is a former semi-professional footballer - played a friendly game with some Turkish celebrities including TV producer Acun Ilicali, and film producer and writer Yilmaz Erdogan.
PM Erdogan’s team won the game 9 - 4.
Turkey has invested in big-budget sports complexes to host international sports organizations such as the Olympics.
The country lost a bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics to Japan last year.
Erdogan opened another complex - the Hasan Dogan National Teams' Camp and Training Facility - three weeks ago, which is among the most modern sports training facilities in the world.
It includes tennis courts, running tracks, recreation areas, conference halls, a lake and a mini-golf course as well as football pitches and is the Turkish Football Federation's biggest infrastructure investment.
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