Ghana: A global talent exporter with no FIFA-standard stadium in 2024

With the dawn of 2024, Ghana stood poised as a powerhouse in world football and boasted a rich history in the football game.

The Black Stars have participated in the FIFA World Cup four times and this achievement places them as football elites.

Yet, despite these monumental achievements, one glaring issue persists: Ghana, a country with such a proud footballing tradition, still does not have a modern stadium worthy of international standards.

This sums up the journey Ghana has travelled to become a four-time World Cup finalist—a truly remarkable journey.

From that indelible debut at the 2006 World Cup, which they opened eyes with by making the Round of 16, to becoming quarterfinalists in 2010, Ghana has carved out its name in the history books of football.

These successes have been made possible by immense talent, passion, and dedication—overall—to football from Ghanaian players, coaches, and fans.

With all these successes, one would expect the infrastructure in football to be the same as what happens on the field.

But this is not so, as the national stadium, the Accra Sports Stadium, which used to be the pride of the land, looks worn out.

Built in 1960, it was redeveloped to host the 2008 AFCON, but it falls short of the standards one would expect of a country with Ghana’s pedigree in football.

The Cape Coast Stadium and Kumasi’s Baba Yara Stadium also used to host national team matches but face similar problems relating to wear and tear, outdated facilities, and poor maintenance.

The Essipong Sports Stadium and the Alliu Mahama Stadium, located in Sekondi-Takoradi and Tamale respectively, epitomize the current rancid situation of the country.

According to football enthusiasts, these two stadiums have a small sitting capacity with very undulating sow-like facilities for any modern experience to be delivered to fans who come to watch football.

For a country that regularly chews out world-class talent and has inspired millions across the globe, the nonexistence of a top-tier stadium is no small legacy in its footballing history.

Ghana’s football administrators and successive governments have often spoken about modern infrastructure. Plans and blueprints for new stadiums have become like ping-pong balls: flying from one administration and another within the corridors of power.

They remain on paper, as very little activity can be said to be in motion towards actualizing them.

Its participation in four World Cup finals should have been such a catalyst, an opportunity to attract investment, and reason enough for building world-class facilities that will match the achievements of the country on the pitch.

That means Ghana’s home games—even in a period of the World Cup qualifiers—take place at facilities that are aging and represent nothing about the standing of the country in world football.

The view is also not that great for fans, while players often lament the condition of pitches and facilities. The lack of a standard stadium has implications beyond prestige in hosting international matches. Such a facility would spur businesses, tourism, and job creation at the local level.

With an added youth bulge and middle-class growth of the population, demand for modern sports facilities can no longer be wished away.

This way, a modern stadium may just turn out to be that twin incubator of the next generation of football stars. These stadiums should have the proper training facilities, medical centers, and youth academies that form the wherewithal for the nurturing of young talents to keep Ghana at the forefront of world football.

This is 2024 and Ghana cannot afford to have this albatross of no standard stadium hanging around her neck. The government, corporate Ghana, and football administrators should all put their act together to make sure this national asset is accorded the needed priority.

This dream will only be realised if there are public-private partnerships, international collaborations, and innovative financing models in place. The Black Stars have given Ghanaians so much happiness, pride, and unity for so many wonderful moments.

It’s time the country returned that faith with a home worth their talents. Next-generation, world-class stadiums the fans deserve not only to host modern experiences but also representations of what the country hopes to achieve in world football.

The dream of raising the World Cup will then patiently await its shoulders as the Black Stars strive towards glory.

But running parallel with that dream, just like rails are to which a train rides, need to be the strives of Ghana to put it right off the pitch—a starting point of getting a stadium commensurate with its footballing status.

Year 2024, and here is Ghana, a four-time World Cup finalist, scratching it head to get a stadium ready for hosting Afcon qualifiers in 12 days later.