The University of Ghana Stadium: promiscuous Ghana’s newest mistress?
Attraction — the action or feature which makes something interesting or desirable. The evolution of mankind has pointed to a plethora of identical and recurring behaviors including the strong attraction to new things or people.
The sight of something new releases the feel good hormone, known as dopamine. This hormone is responsible for giving the sense of pleasure, satisfaction and also motivation to do something.
Basically, when we see a new object which already peaks our interest, our brain experiences a dopamine rush. This release of dopamine motivates us to seek and explore the new object.
The rush of dopamine, however, ceases once we get used to the object and familiarity builds.
This is known as the Psychology of Novelty, and this phenomenon is probably the main killer of sporting infrastructure in Ghana.
The Cape Coast Stadium, commissioned in 2016, hosted over one hundred (100) high profile games within the first 3 years of its opening.
From Black Stars home games, Women’s AFCON, to the WAFU Cup of Nations, almost everything sports was hosted at the venue during the period. This obviously led to the facility being overburdened and in dire need of a facelift, months to the 2024 African Games earlier this year.
The Accra Stadium received a much needed makeover in 2018, prior to the Women’s AFCON, its first since 2008.
Upon completion, the pressure began or more accurately – it continued. Over one hundred and sixty (160) league matches were hosted at the venue within the first two years of the renovation, not taking into consideration training sessions, major tournaments, and other non-sporting activities.
With Cape Coast and Accra slowly deteriorating, and deemed not fit for purpose, Ghana found a new love just in time for the 2022 World Cup playoff against Nigeria – a new look Baba Yara stadium, which had been closed down for over a year for renovation works.
The edifice has now played host to over fifty (50) league games since its reopening, including Black Stars home matches. All this with very little maintenance works being done.
The newest in this seemingly unending cycle of ‘abuse’ is the University of Ghana Stadium.
Commissioned earlier this year for the African Games, the facility has already begun to attract event organizers.
At just two and a half months old, the University Stadium has already hosted 14 football games which include the African Games and the just ended WAFU Zone B U-17 championships, as well as track and field competitions.
The MTN FA Cup final, which features two Brong Ahafo-based clubs, has been scheduled for the University Stadium in Accra, just two weeks after the CAA Region II Seniors Championships end at the same venue.
However, Director of Sports of the University of Ghana, Dr. Bella Bello Bitugu, whose outfit is in charge of the maintenance of the facility assures that it will not suffer the same fate as all the other sporting infrastructure.
“One of the major issue we have in Ghana is maintenance. It’s not just limited to public sporting facilities, but even private property also.
“One thing, however, proven empirically in the research literature is that sporting facilities are best maintained when they are in educational institutions,” he told Joy Sports.
“This is why the University of Ghana is going to prove to the whole world, and especially Ghanaians, that we have the ability and are competent to maintain this stadium to a level of excellence.
“There is a maintenance concept that has been prepared and I’m sure that we’ll look back on this facility in a few years and be proud of the fantastic work that has been done to maintain it,” he added.
The fact is, Ghanaians have heard such promises before in the past, and that didn’t stop the inevitable.
But in the words of American author Brandon Sanderson, “words are where most change begins” – maybe this is where the country turns over a new leaf.