Ghana Football Association (GFA) General Secretary Prosper Harrison Addo has rejected claims that Somalia were deliberately stopped from training at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium before their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ghana.
Addo said the incident arose from confusion over which part of the university sports complex had been allocated to the visiting team. He insisted Somalia’s training session had not been cancelled and that the delegation was not denied access to the facility.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ultimate Sports Show, Addo explained that Somalia had been assigned the warm-up pitch, while the main playing field was unavailable because it had been reserved for a university programme.
“It was a case of miscommunication. They were supposed to train on the warm-up pitch, not the main pitch,” he said.
The GFA general secretary also said the association had not received a formal complaint from the Somali delegation about the incident.
“The Somalis were not denied access to train at UG Stadium, and none of their officials has contacted us to report any problems with their training,” he added.
Addo clarified that it was campus security personnel from the University of Ghana, rather than the police, who asked the Somali players and officials to leave the main pitch.
He said the confusion was partly caused by a failure to communicate the arrangements clearly. According to Addo, the leader of the Somali delegation should have been told in advance which pitch had been allocated and directed to the warm-up area.
The GFA official maintained that there had been no deliberate effort to disrupt Somalia’s preparations. He said the disagreement was solely related to the designation of the training ground.
His comments followed allegations of intimidation from the Somali camp after security personnel interrupted the team’s training session at the University of Ghana Stadium on Tuesday.
Ghana are due to host Somalia at the Essipong Sports Stadium in Sekondi-Takoradi on Thursday, November 12. The two sides will then play the return fixture on Monday, November 16.
