Sekondi Stadium to be ready for WAFU tourney - Dep. Minister

The Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Pius Enam Hadzide, has  given a firm assurance that the Sekondi Stadium at Essipong would be put in good condition before the WAFU tournament begins on September 9.

Expressing concern about the poor maintenance culture at the country’s sports facilities, he said such infrastructure should not be allowed to deteriorate before the authorities in charge of their management begin to seek funds to renovate them.

“We have to put the [Essipong] stadium in good condition by renovating it before we can use it to host the WAFU competition,” stated the deputy minister in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday.

Mr Hadzide, who was part of the delegation that assessed the state of the stadium, said his outfit would institute stringent measures to ensure that sports facilities in Ghana were regularly maintained. 

“Ghana could save so much money if stringent maintenance procedures were adhered to. We should not leave our sporting facilities to deteriorate before searching for funds to rehabilitate them.”

Citing the Sekondi Stadium as an example, Mr Hadzide said many sporting edifices were in bad condition due to the absence of a maintenance culture and expressed the hope that such negative attitude would be consigned to history.