Renovation works at our stadia must start now

Early this month, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made a pledge before the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmad Ahmad, that Ghana was ready to host CAF competitions beginning with this year’s African Women’s Cup of Nations to be held in the country in November.

Receiving the CAF Platinum Award at the Aiteo CAF Awards in Accra on January 4, President Akufo-Addo expressed “Ghana’s preparedness and readiness to host events and tournaments of CAF.” It was the biggest assurance one could expect from the President.

It is over a year since CAF awarded Ghana the hosting rights for the continental tournament but not much is taking place even after the formation of the Local Organising Committee to oversee to the day-to-day preparation for the competition.

Ghana’s ability to organise successful competitions has never been in doubt and the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations set a high benchmark for other tournaments. But the delay in the start of major renovation works at the Accra Sports Stadium, one of two venues for the women’s tournament, is creating a lot of worry about the nation’s ability to meet CAF’s strict deadlines, as well as creating challenges for other events staged at the nation’s premier sporting facility, especially with the Premier League season set to commence in a few weeks’ time.

After undertaking inspection tours of the facility last year, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Kwame Asiamah, announced that renovation works would begin in July. Months later, the Press Box at the Accra Stadium was closed and cordoned off because of the extent of deterioration and potential danger to media men. For many, it was the strongest indication that work was to start soon. But that was all there is to any rehabilitation works at the stadium, almost six months after renovation was expected to start. To date, there is no clear date of commencement of work and the Women’s Nations Cup keeps drawing closer each passing day.

While the Nations Cup may look several months away, the 2017/18 Premier League is expected to commence soon and it is unclear if clubs, such as Accra Hearts of Oak and Inter Allies, will be allowed to use the stadium until it is finally shut down. Also uncertain is the duration and scope of renovations and how they will impact on the league and other sporting competitions which normally take place at the nation’s premier sporting arena.

For a facility described by the minister and other football administrators as a “death trap” after years of neglect and poor maintenance culture, the state of the Accra Stadium is unacceptable and the earlier the ministry got contractors to start work, the better it will be for Ghana sports.

And it is not just the Accra Stadium which needs urgent repair works. The Baba Yara Stadium, another venue for the women’s tournament, needs a facelift before the continental showpiece just as the Sekondi Stadium at Essipon which requires more extensive repair work 10 years after it hosted Group B matches at the 2008 AFCON.

With the GFA releasing the football calendar which has a tight Premier League fixture this year to accommodate other international competitions, the Graphic Sports believes the long delay in the start of renovation works in Accra and other venues is unacceptable.

In fact, the sorry state of facilities at these stadia has made it impossible for the Sports Authority to rent them out for private events, denying the authority the significant internally generated funds needed to complement the government’s inadequate budgetary allocation for sports development.