It’s like playing on concrete- Otto Addo criticizes playing surface ahead of Chad game

Head coach of Ghana’s National Men’s Football Team, the Black Stars, Otto Addo, has criticized the playing surface at the Stade Olympique Marechal Idriss Deby Itno in Chad.

The newly built stadium will host the Black Stars 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Chad on Thursday, September 4 at 13:00 GMT.

Chad head into the game as heavy underdogs after failing to win any of its previous six games to rank bottom of Group I, while Ghana leads the group with 15 points from six games.

In the lead up to the game, Otto Addo didn’t sound too impressed with the artificial turf at the stadium in an interview with GFA media stating,

“I’m surprised that CAF- Africa’s football governing body-allowed this pitch for an international match. The pitch is really not good. It’s very hard. For the players, it’s like playing on concrete but what can we do. It’s not a good astro turf to be honest. Nowadays, there are fare more better astro turfs which are also much healthier for the players.”

The game against Chad is the first of two World Cup qualifiers this month for Ghana as the Black Stars are due to play against Mali on September 8 in Accra.