The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has granted permission to the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi to host the Qatar 2022 World Cup playoff match between Ghana and Nigeria for one match.
The permit was issued after a CAF Licencing Inspector visited Baba Yara Sports Stadium last Sunday to inspect the facility.
Earlier, it had been decided that the Cape Coast Sports Stadium, which has hosted all of Ghana's qualifiers so far, would also host Ghana's last match in the 2022 qualifiers until pictures of the condition of the pitch surfaced on the internet.
The visit by the CAF Licencing Inspector had become necessary after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) complained to FIFA about the poor condition of the turf at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
Here are excerpts from the letter sent to the GFA from CAF:
After the completion of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff round, the stadium will be automatically removed from the list of CAF approved stadiums and will only be approved for all subsequent CAF /FIFA international senior team matches and CAF men's interclub competitions after all CAF comments have been implemented.
Installation of new, modern and comfortable officials' benches to international standards at field level;
Adjustment of the intensity of the floodlights. A minimum of 1200 lux should be distributed throughout the field and evenly cover each area of the field;
Increase seating and lockers in team locker rooms to (25) people;
Installing completely new, modern equipment and materials in the referees' locker rooms and ensuring that they are equipped with all necessary materials and CAF requirements;
Installation of a water system that provides both cold and hot water in the team and officials locker rooms;
General renovation of the office CAF, installation of modern desks and seating, including necessary electronic and work equipment;
The VOC must be available and equipped with all necessary equipment and requirements; complete renovation of the media stand, press conference room and media centre, installation of new and modern equipment.
In order to follow the progress of the above works in the stadium, CAF will appoint a stadium inspector who will carry out an on-site assessment until the day of the upcoming FIFA match.
CAF reiterated that a stadium inspector will be on site to further assess the facility until the day of the match. If the above conditions are not met before the match, financial sanctions will be imposed on Ghana.
Ghana will face Nigeria in the 1st match on Friday, March 25, 2022 at 19:30 CET at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.