President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe has passionately appealed to nation’s without standard pitches for tournaments to make sure they put infrastructure in place and put their pitches to standard.
Keen about football development in Africa, he argues nations and team’s having standard pitches for tournaments goes a long way to build football in Africa.
“There is nothing that frustrates me more than a national team or a football team from Kenya.. bad example because you’ve got wonderful facilities, but for a country to go and play outside. You can’t build football in any country in Africa if the national team or football club cannot doesn’t play in front of the nation,” he stated at a press briefing.
Although the CAF President during his tenure has made strides in reducing the number of countries which play outside of their nation, some nations still play tournaments outside their jurisdictions, which Ghana is now a part of.
Ghana likely to play remaining home games in Nigeria after Baba Yara stadium ban.
A monumental embarrassment awaits Ghana, after the Confederation of African Football withdrew approval for the use of the Baba Yara Stadium for AFCON Qualifiers.
The CAF inspection team, on their last visit to Ghana, identified several issues, including a playing field that was deemed unsuitable for competitive matches. Uneven surfaces, poor drainage, and inadequate grass cover were some of the issues raised.
According to CAF, persistent issues at the venue, as well as others in Ghana, such as Cape Coast Stadium and Accra Sports Stadium have resulted in the continent’s governing body asking Ghana to select an alternative venue from among those approved outside Ghana, for Matchday 3 and 4 of the AFCON qualifiers in October.
In light of this, the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Nigeria, seems like the most likely alternative for Ghana, according to Joy Sports sources.
Nothing frustrates me more than a country that has to play home matches away from home – CAF President blasts Ghana and others#JoySports pic.twitter.com/AwSER46kdD
— #JoySports (@JoySportsGH) September 16, 2024
