The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Mahama, has reiterated his commitment to improving sports infrastructure in Ghana, citing the need for upgrading facilities for track and field events and tackling the decline of football pitches.
In a recent conversation with media practitioners at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, Mahama emphasized the importance of supporting lesser-known sports to promote a more inclusive sports development strategy across the country.
He highlighted the need for improved infrastructure in the sports sector, citing the example of the Cape Coast Stadium, a state-of-the-art facility with a seating capacity of 16,000 that was constructed during his administration in 2016.
Mahama acknowledged that Ghana lacks a world-class facility to host major sporting events, and that the deteriorating conditions of stadiums such as the Accra Sports Stadium, Baba Yara Sports Stadium, and Essipong Stadium in Sekondi are a significant concern.
He noted that while Ghana may not be able to bid to host major tournaments soon due to current economic conditions, he emphasized that improving sports infrastructure remains crucial for any government.
“We don’t have a world-class standard Sports Stadium… I have been to Wembley Stadium before, it’s a stadium of a different class from what we have here in the country,” Mahama said. “If there’s an opportunity because you know you will get returns from the investment.”
Mahama pledged to allocate a certain amount of money over five years to provide good infrastructure, including roads, bridges, agro-industrial parks, and sports facilities.
“In the current crisis in which we are, i will not stand here and promise that we will build a new stadium, but i have said that under the big push, we intend to spend a certain amount of money over five years on providing a good infrastructure including road, bridges, agro industrial parks and so on and so forth, that could include sports facilities”
He emphasized that sports plays a vital role in Ghana’s economy and that games can be played at night in many countries, but not in Ghana due to lack of suitable facilities.
“If you go to many countries, sports plays a good path in the 24 hour economy and so you find games played at night, but in our part of the country we can have games at night.”
