Adekunle Salami
CAF has dealt Ghana a cruel blow by rejecting the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi as venue to host the crucial match against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Only last month in Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana were drawn by CAF to vie for one of the five final tickets for the Mundial slated for November in Qatar.
The playoff is scheduled to take place between March 24 and 29 in a home and away basis.
The Ghana initially proposed two home venues -the Cape Coast Sports Stadium and the Accra Sports Stadium- for the World Cup qualifiers but later decided to move the match to Kumasi.
CAF has however rejected the Baba Yara Sports Stadium is strong terms.
“Considering that matchday is in less than 30 days, CAF is not in a position to delay any further the confirmation of the match venue. As you are aware, the selection of the venue, respective date, and time of the match, has to be set well in advance having a direct impact on the preparation of match logistics and operations by all the concerned parties.
“Besides, please note that Kumasi Sports Stadium is currently non-homologated by CAF to host international matches, since it has been under renovations and no CAF inspection was conducted to the stadium to re-assess the level of stadium compliance.
“Considering the above, the request of change of venue is not accepted, hence the match Ghana Vs. Nigeria for the playoff round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers should be maintained at Cape Coast Stadium.
“In case your association reiterate the position to change the venue since there is no other approved venue in Ghana, your national team will be requested to play its upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers playoff round match in an approved stadium outside its territory, and the venue must be selected from among the stadiums approved by CAF.”
With this development, the Black Stars, Super Eagles might be played at the Accra Sports Stadium since a statement was released by the National Sports Authority on the unavailability of the Cape Coast Sports Stadium which is being prepared ahead of Ghana’s Independence Day celebrations on March 6.
The CAF statement also read: “24th of December 2021 was the deadline set by CAF for the participating national associations to select and communicate to CAF their preferred venue for the playoff round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers.
“On the 23rd of December 2021, GFA informed CAF that Cape Coast Stadium was the venue selected for the playoff round of the F World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers.”
