KB Asante: Voice From Afar column
Yes, save our stadiums now!
The National Sports Authority (NSA), headed by the unassuming Joe Kpenge, must be on the warpath this year to save national stadia across the country from wanton destruction by patrons.
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It has been barely a decade since the Accra and Kumasi stadia were reconstructed or given a facelift, in addition to the construction of two new ones in Tamale and at Essipon in Sekondi, but all four are pale shadows of themselves and begging for national attention.
Apart from the wear and tear that naturally come with such edifices over time, the destruction being suffered by these stadia as a result of human activities is unimaginable.
Perhaps the NSA has been slow or lethargic in acting to reverse the trend, but Joe Kpenge’s decision, in what could be a New Year Resolution, to surcharge users of the national stadia who end up destroying the edifices, must be a good call.
Indeed, the sector Minister, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, cannot be left out in the praise, as it was through his directive that the NSA got energised for action.
And we can’t stop being excited by the NSA’s order to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to pay for or replace some estimated 1,000 plastic chairs which were ripped off during an inter-school competition at the Kumasi Stadium (see back page).
It is baffling that such a colossal quantity of chairs could be destroyed at one sporting event by schoolchildren. One can easily imagine the complete emptiness that will be caused to the stadium in subsequent events.
We throw our support behind the move by the NSA to hold erring patrons of our stadia to account, while we will advise such patrons, particularly school authorities, to chaperon their pupils or young students fond of such wayward behaviour.
But, surprisingly, more of such defacing of stadia infrastructure appear to be carried out by rival football fans when the football league and other competitive matches are in season.
We feel reluctant to recall the sad events of May 9, 2001 at the Accra Stadium when violence erupted during a crucial league match between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko, leading not only to the destruction of several thousands of chairs but also loss of about 127 lives.
It is our view that the NSA should not wait for such dastardly acts to occur at our stadia before it acts.
Proactively, officials of the NSA must ensure regular policing of activities at the stadia during any and every sporting event as is done elsewhere in the world.
We will seize the opportunity to once again draw the attention of the NSA and the Sports Ministry to the urgent need to give a facelift to all the four stadia in the country.
Indeed, the case of the Accra Stadium is pathetic, as the rapid pace of dilapidation, especially from the corroding effects of the nearby sea, can make the edifice crumble any moment if not attended to with dispatch!