The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has inspected the Accra Sports Stadium and the Cape Coast Sports Stadium, evaluating them for potential approval ahead of Ghana’s crucial home match against Sudan in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
Ghana is set to face Sudan in October as part of its campaign to secure a spot in the 2025 AFCON tournament.
However, the country was thrown into a dilemma after CAF withdrew approval for the Baba Yara Sports Stadium to host Category C matches, leaving Ghana without a certified venue to host international fixtures.
This forced the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to begin exploring alternative venues outside the country for their upcoming home fixture against Sudan.
In response to the urgent situation, officials from CAF were invited by Ghana’s Ministry of Sports to inspect the Accra and Cape Coast Sports Stadia over the past weekend.
According to sources from Joy Sports, the inspection is part of a concerted effort to avoid what could be a significant embarrassment for the nation having to play its home qualifier in a foreign country.
Earlier, the Ministry of Sports had asked the GFA to appeal for CAF to reinspect not only the Accra and Cape Coast stadia but also the Legon Stadium. The hope was that at least one of these facilities would meet CAF’s stringent requirements for hosting the crucial qualifier.
As things stand, Ghana is anxiously awaiting CAF’s decision, with optimism that either the Accra or Cape Coast stadium will receive temporary approval.
If successful, the approval would allow the Black Stars to host Sudan on home soil in October and prevent the team from losing its home advantage.
This situation highlights Ghana’s broader challenge with maintaining sports infrastructure that meets international standards, and the upcoming decision from CAF will have significant implications for the country’s AFCON campaign.
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