Minister of Sports and Recreation Kofi Adams has assured that existing sports facilities will undergo major refurbishment, even as President John Dramani Mahama prepares to deliver on his pledge to build seven new stadiums next year.
Currently, the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi and the Essipong Stadium in Sekondi have been shut down for renovation, while several other facilities have fallen into disrepair due to years of poor maintenance.
The Accra Sports Stadium, which remains the only venue cleared to host CAF and FIFA-sanctioned matches, has also had sections cordoned off for safety concerns.
Speaking in an interview with Channel One, Adams, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for Buem Constituency, emphasized the need for proper upgrades rather than cosmetic repairs.
“We are not just going to renovate, we are going to refurbish [existing stadiums].
“When I took over [as Minister] and looked through the documents, huge sums of money, millions of cedis, have been spent in the name of renovation, but we don’t see anything.
“We think that we must properly refurbish the stadia that we have to a standard that is very acceptable that will be worked on.
Adams further disclosed that beyond refurbishing existing facilities, government will prioritize the construction of stadiums in regions without any standard sports infrastructure.
“We will also build in regions that do not have anything that they can refer to as a stadium,” Adams added.
