The National Sports Authority (NSA) is seeking full Confederation of African Football (CAF) certification for the Essipong Sports Stadium to host Ghana’s upcoming international fixture against Somalia in November.
Speaking to Citi Sports, Acting Director-General of the NSA, Prof. Emmanuel Osei Sarpong, said the Authority is working to meet the remaining requirements set by CAF to allow the stadium to host more international matches.
Full certification would give Ghana another venue for national team fixtures and ease pressure on the Accra Sports Stadium, to allow renovation works.
“One of the plans is that we have Essipong Sports Stadium, Kumasi Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Tamale and Accra. These are five we have, and currently, Accra is certified. Fortunately for us, we got Essipong temporarily certified,” he said.
Essipong received conditional FIFA and CAF approval to host the Black Queens’ game against Mauritius on Tuesday, October 13, marking its return to international football after years without regular use.
The NSA is considering the venue for Somalia’s home fixture against Ghana to give the Accra Sports Stadium more time for repairs. Somalia has already received approval from the NSA to use the Accra Sports Stadium for its home matches after CAF failed to certify a venue in the country.
“We were trying to see if we could play one of them, especially the home match for Somalia at the Essipong Sports Stadium. It will be their home game. So it will really not affect us, so that at least Accra Sports Stadium will also have time to breathe,” he said.
Prof. Osei Sarpong added that the NSA was working to address infrastructure concerns at the Kumasi Sports Stadium, particularly its dressing rooms.
He said combining two smaller dressing rooms into one larger space could help the facility meet the requirements for hosting national teams.
