The Confederation of African Football (Caf) says the current state of the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi renders it not fit to host upcoming matches in senior international and interclub competitions.
The African football governing body granted Ghana a one-match for the use of the stadium against Nigeria in the 2022 World Cup playoffs. This came with some conditions for improvements which when fully met were to determine the approval of the facility for subsequent senior international matches.
2022 WCQ Playoffs: Ghana vs Nigeria officially moved to Baba Yara Stadium
Prior to the March 25 game, Caf stationed a Licensing Inspector who cumulatively spent about 11 days in the country and sent a report which was in the negative after assessing the quality of the corrections made at Baba Yara Stadium by Ghana authorities.
On April 4, Caf wrote to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) informing its member of the automatic removal of the Baba Yara Stadium from its approved list and remarks on the standard of the recently-renovated facility.
Caf pointed out that the improvements made prior to the Nigeria match still did not meet the required standards and even questioned the quality of the equipment and materials used in the stadium.
“Following the one match approval given by Caf for the use of Baba Yara Sports Stadium (Kumasi) in the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers playoff round matches under the condition that specific points were to be corrected in the stadium, based on the report received from the Caf inspector that was onsite, we regret to inform you that the improvements made are still not up to the standards required by Caf to host Senior International A matches.
“Unfortunately, the level of implementation of all the Caf remarks in the stadium were not satisfactory, including the quality of the equipment and materials used in the different functional areas in the stadium. As a result of the reported situation, we have taken the following decision:
- Formal prohibition is made to use of the Baba Yara Sports Stadium (Kumasi) in all Caf/Fifa Senior international A matches.
“The stadium is automatically removed from the list of Caf-approved stadiums and will only be approved for any subsequent Caf/Fifa international senior national teams matches and Caf men’s interclub competitions following the implementation of all the Caf remarks,” portions of the Caf letter signed by Development Director Raul Chipenda read.
Caf’s concerns with the stadium include aspects of the playing surface, technical area, architecture, equipment and material mostly located in the VIP area of the stadium.
Ghana is now in a position where Caf will strictly ensure the implementation of all its regulations and remarks before the Baba Yara Sports Stadium can receive approval.
“The stadium authorities should consider initiating a complete renovation and refurbishment work in order to ensure that the stadium is approved in the future for Caf competitions. We recommend that the renovation plan is based on modern architecture, contemporary design, and high-quality equipment and materials with a clear project plan and specific timelines.
“Kindly note that in accordance with the Caf Stadium inspection and approval procedure, before a stadium can be re-approved, all the comments and remarks must be strictly respected and implemented and a follow-up re-inspection covered by your association MUST be done by Caf in order to reassess the stadium compliance,” the letter also stated.
This puts the facility in serious doubt to host Ghana’s first match in the qualifiers for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) early June. The GFA has up to April 25 to communicate its venue – which will also need inspection and approval – to Caf.
