The Cape Coast Stadium has been banned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for international matches due to its declared unfitness.
As a result, Ghanaian champions, Medeama, have had to move their CAF Champions’ League group matches to the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as an alternative venue.
This ban on the Cape Coast Stadium will also affect Ghana’s upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Madagascar. The Black Stars will now have Kumasi as their preferred home ground.
The decision to close the Cape Coast Stadium was communicated in a report to the Ghana Football Association by CAF’s Technical Development Director, Raul Chipenda, following an inspection of the facility by CAF. The report cited numerous shortcomings and deficiencies and recommended essential renovations and upgrades to meet compliance requirements.
The concerns outlined in the CAF report include issues related to the stadium’s functionality, design, comfort, and the quality of equipment.
The inspection report made it clear that various areas of the stadium needed significant improvement and renovation to meet CAF’s standards and requirements for modern football stadiums. Consequently, the stadium must undergo refurbishment to meet the standards expected of a modern football venue.
CAF has further recommended that only companies with a proven track record in the construction and renovation of modern stadiums should be selected to carry out the necessary refurbishments.
“Based on the inspection report, we regret to inform you that the stadium does not meet the set CAF stadium minimum requirements to host CAF Senior International matches,” the report said.
Mr Chipenda said the facility would only be approved if all their recommendations were strictly met after re-inspection.
Since the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff with Nigeria last year, Kumasi has become the preferred home ground for competitive matches involving the Black Stars, having previously played their matches in Cape Coast.
Medeama hosted Remo Stars of Nigeria and Horoya AC of Guinea at the Cape Coast Stadium in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League. As a result of the new CAF directive, the ‘Mauve and Yellow’ will host Group D rivals, CR Belouizad, in Kumasi on December 1, Young Africans on December 8, and Al Ahly on February 23, next year.