CAF stadium inspector, Emmanuel Newton Dasoberi, has emphasised the need for experts and technocrats to oversee stadium management in Ghana, ensuring that these venues comply with FIFA and CAF standards for matches.
Dasoberi pointed out that the National Sports Authority (NSA), responsible for state-owned stadiums, has not effectively ensured that Ghana’s stadiums meet the necessary standards established by football governing bodies like FIFA and CAF.
In an interview with Graphic Sports, the CAF official stressed the importance of a national dialogue to address the effective management of stadiums in order to align with the requirements outlined by football regulatory organisations.
“We need a national dialogue on this matter. If we don’t agree as a nation that we do not have what it takes to host international matches, then we are going nowhere.”
“The long-term plan is to agree and prioritise whatever we need. We cannot say that we are going to renovate all five. It is not possible to maintain five stadia at the level CAF or FIFA wants.
“We must agree as a long-term measure to get the experts involved, get a contractor like CAF has rightly mentioned, get the pitch experts, people who are seriously into construction, to do the right thing,” Mr Dasoberi suggested last Friday.
“If we don’t have the right management approach, nothing is going to work. We must, as a country, understand that things have changed. Football is changing and playing in a stadium is not only about the playing field,” he said.
Emmanuel Newton Dasoberi’s comments followed CAF’s observation that the Cape Coast Stadium falls short of the requirements for hosting CAF Champions League matches.