Deputy Director-General of the National Sports Authority, Abdul Majeed Bawa believes the verdict from CAF to rule out the Cape Coast Sports Stadium as unsuitable for purpose is due to a communication gap between the Ghana Football Association and the NSA.
The Cape Coast Sports Stadium last hosted Ghana’s home games in the AFCON qualifiers and the World Cup qualifiers, however, the facility has fallen down the pecking order according to CAF’s requirements.
The verdict from CAF means the only viable home venue to host Ghana’s home games in the World Cup qualifiers is the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
In an exclusive interview with Citi Sports, Abdul Majeed Bawa urged the Ghana Football Association to prompt the NSA ahead of time with regard to inspection dates for the various facilities.
“There’s a communication gap between the Ghana Football Association and the National Sports Authority. The FA thinks that whatever they want to do, they can do it how they want it. The FA has to inform us that, on this day, FIFA would be coming to do an inspection on the facilities, these things are not done.”
“All that we hear is that FIFA has come to inspect the facilities, how do the [GFA] expect us [NSA] to know. The Ministry of Youth & Sports and the National Sports Authority have invested so much into the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.”
“As for Cape Coast, because teams do not play there that much, we don’t pay much attention to that facility, like we do for Baba Yara Sports Stadium and the Accra Sports Stadium.”
“So if we don’t know and we are just sitting there and they come to inspect and the facilities are substandard: we are working as a team, so if the FA knows the CAF inspectors are coming on a certain day, they have to inform the managers [NSA] of the facility, that on this day and that day, CAF inspectors will be around.”
“That is the best practice, but it is not done.”
The Ghana Football Association on Tuesday, October 31 announced that Ghana would host Madagascar at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, that’s the Black Stars’ first home game in the 2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS.
The last time the Black Stars played at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium was in the final game of the AFCON qualifiers against Central African Republic on September 7, 2023.