With the intention of enhancing the facilities for next international events, the National Sports Authority (NSA) has closed the Accra Sports Stadium and the Cape Coast Sports Stadium for maintenance.
Sources claim that the closure is a component of the stadiums’ renovation to comply with international regulations.
This decision comes in response to a directive issued by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) last week, which said that because of the poor quality of the surface, CAF/FIFA senior international matches cannot be held at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
Baba Yara’s playing field should be completely rebuilt, as advised by CAF. However, it seems the NSA is only implementing temporary fixes to keep the facility open for the October 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Sudan.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has been instructed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to ask CAF to assess the University of Ghana Stadium in Legon and the Accra Sports Stadium to see if they are suitable to host the match in response to the Baba Yara scenario.
Although the Accra stadium is included in CAF’s database, the GFA has observed that it still needs a lot of work.
However, it doesn’t appear like the Legon stadium is prepared to be approved for the event.
Following the Black Stars’ loss to the Palancas Negras at Baba Yara Stadium, the GFA convened with the Sports Ministry and the NSA on September 6, 2024, to address the urgent need to fix the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
If nothing else goes wrong, it looks like Sudan may visit Ghana in Cape Coast.
However, the GFA has also thought about holding the game in Togo in the event that no location in Ghana can satisfy the required standards.
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