As a country, maintaining buildings and other facilities, either big or small, has always been a challenge and as a result most facilities do not last their life span.
Indeed, when the sports stadia refurbished and new ones put up for the 2008 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), the concern was how those facilities would be maintained. Unfortunately, there has not been enough funds to go round and the National Sports Authority (NSA) has had to come up with innovative ways to maintain the stadia in Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi and Tamale.
However, in its bid to raise funds to maintain the stadia under its care, the NSA is gradually putting the non-sports activities ahead and above sports events.
To be specific, football has had to suffer because the NSA has been entertainment groups who want to bring a large number of people together at the same time.
Last week, an embarrassing incident which could have been avoided occurred as the senior female national football team, the Black Queens, prepared to host Burkina Faso in an African Women’s Championship (AWC) qualifier.
The Queens were left stranded as they reported to train at the Accra Stadium and so did their guests, the Burkinabe.
Apparently, the stadium had been rented out for primary schools’ programme on Thursday and Friday and a church programme on Sunday, without any provision being made for the Queens’ match.
When the NSA was contacted, it said it was not aware of the international match and insisted the stadium had been hired out so the AWC qualifier be shifted to the El Wak Stadium.
A letter to that effect had been sent from the office of the acting Chief Executive of the NSA, Madam Alice Attipoe.
Unfortunately, the shift of venue could not be done as the international rule for football demands that such changes must be communicated to the organising body at least 10 days before the match takes place and it is only considered an emergency when there is a force majeure. If that is not done, the penalty could be a fine or forfeiture of the points or both, as it could be considered a deliberate attempt to gain an unfair advantage over the away team.
Thankfully, that embarrassment was averted as the Burkinabe agreed to play the game on Saturday, March 1, instead of the scheduled Sunday, March 2.
What happened last week was not the first time the NSA had placed a non-sport event above a sports event.
Last month, the national Under-20 female football team, the Black Princesses, were almost prevented from training at the Stadium in preparation for their Women's World Cup qualifier against Equatorial Guinea.
The Princesses, arrived at the stadium only to be told that they could not train because the stadium was being prepared for a two-day ‘Singles and Married Conference’. After a while, the huge loud speakers were taken off the pitch and the team managed to train. They could, however, not train in the evening.
Ghana was saved any embarrassment as Equatorial Guinea, who were required to train at least a day before the match, arrived very late on Saturday and, thus, missed their training schedule.
Again last November, organisers of an international tournament such as the West African Football Union (WAFU) tournament, were forced to move the tournament from Accra to Kumasi because the stadium had been booked for an entertainment event.
This leaves one wondering whether there is any co-ordination between the NSA and the GFA over the calendar for the season and whether there is a facility-user policy at the NSA.
In the past, the NSA was furnished with a detailed football programme indicating when all international matches and other football matches would be played. Has that practice stopped?
As part of its report and recommendations on how best and effective to maintain the stadia, the Local Organising Committee of the AFCON 2008, suggested that the stadia could be used for other big events, but that did not mean that those events should have priority over sports.
Indeed, when this effort to generate funds started, the stadium was rented out when the football season was over, but now it looks like at the slightest opportunity, the stadium must be hired out. This is also putting pressure on the other facilities.
The toilets are gradually becoming an eyesore because they are not being properly maintained as water does not flow regularly, the stands are barely clean even on a match day. The media area is nothing to be proud of.
More worrying, is the state the stadium is left after the non-sport events. The pitch is becoming dangerous for play. That ‘November Show’ at the Accra Stadium left in its trail broken bottles, crown corks, cigarette filters, all considered dangerous to the game, on the turf and the staff are having a difficult time to get them all out.
During the Princesses-Equatorial Guinea game, two players of the visiting team were injured and Ghana was just lucky that the guests did not make a case out of it as they did not have the benefit of training on the pitch ahead of the game to realise this danger.
As a necessity, the NSA must find innovative ways of raising money for maintenance, but the question is, so far, how has the money generated from the non-sports events been accounted for? What is the charge per show? Is it enough to meet even half of what the authority needs to maintain the stadium?
At the moment, nothing is known about how much it costs to rent the stadium as well as indicating if it is a profitable venture.
If it does, then it is not showing because, the condition of the facility is getting worse by the day. The pitch itself, the metal railings are all corroding and no preventive measure is being taken. There is no need stressing that the toilets are becoming an embarrasment to a national stadium.
What is happening to the stadia in Kumasi, Sekondi and Tamale who do not get the opportunity to host such events that often. Does it mean they are not being maintained?
As it stands now, the actions of the NSA over the use of the stadium is adversely affecting the purpose for which it was solely intended for.
The stadium were constructed for sports and it must have priority over all other events!
Until the proposed Olympic Stadium is built, the Accra Stadium remains the nation’s Wembley and just as England is careful and meticulous about the use of the Wembley Stadium, so must Ghana be about the stadium in Accra.
