Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams has bemoaned with sadness the fact that Ghana has no pitches which meet international standards for hosting world class tournaments.
According to him, Ghana has 6 national stadiums and it is very embarrassing to see that none of them scattered across the country can host any proper international tournament.
“None of Ghana’s stadia meets international standards for hosting world-class tournaments. I mean none of the stadiums we have in this country and that is something we must look at because it is not good.”
He stressed that there is the need to do a major renovations on the facilities but they are not going to rush without getting the full funding to undertake these works that ought to be done.
“We have to do major works on these facilities and we are not going to rush into doing them without getting the full funding. We need full funding to work and complete them so that the facilities can work and use the money generated to to maintain them,” Kofi Adams said.
In 2024, Ghana suffered global shame following embarrassing pitch issues, leading to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) banning the Black Stars from playing any of its 2025 AFCON qualifiers at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Ghana’s only approved venue for international matches.
CAF’s ban came to force because Ghana’s pitches are unsuitable for playing football. The national team, therefore, had to find alternative venues outside of the country to play its home games.
After a series of rushed work, CAF finally approved the Accra Sports Stadium to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier between Ghana and Sudan.
In a letter addressed to GFA General Secretary, CAF stated:
“Following a comprehensive review of the CAF independent inspection reports on both the Cape Coast and Accra Sports Stadia, we are pleased to inform you that the Accra Sports Stadium has been approved to host the AFCON Qualifiers for Morocco 2025. Specifically, it will host the Group F – Matchday 3 encounter between Ghana and Sudan, scheduled for October 11, 2024.”
