The Alhaji Aliu Mahama Stadium in Tamale is fast deteriorating due to the poor maintenance of the only accredited Ghana Premier League match venue in Northern Ghana.
The multipurpose stadium facility since its construction in 2008 has seen little renovation, leading to its deterioration.
The 12-year-old facility looks good from the outside and in the stands, as the relatively good-looking pitch hides the stinking and deteriorating details of the facility.
The roof at the VVIP and Popular stands leaks terribly when it rains, wetting fans more than on-field players during wet match days.
On Sunday 18th September 2022 during the GPL match between New entrants, Tamale City FC and Legon Cities, a heavy downpour exposed the worse state of the roof as home fans watching the game from the two stands were well and heavily beaten by the rain before the Accra based side also beat their team.
The Aliu Mahama Stadium which is also home to the Ghana Premier League side, Real Tamale United, and several Division One League sides has its toilet facilities in terrible condition with heaps of rubbish and excrements littered inside the toilet.
Some disappointed football fans who spoke to GhanaWeb blamed the management of the Ghana Sports Authority for doing little to maintain the facility, despite charging football clubs, entertainment, and event organizers huge monies to access their facilities.
“The state of the facility is appalling, especially when you enter the washroom, You’ll see rubbers everywhere, faeces in the water closets, and the stink in there is terrible. We come to watch football but we can’t be watching the game in this filth,” one fan said
Another fan called on the government to renovate the facility to at least meet international standards.
“It is not surprising that CAF and FIFA have been rejecting this facility for international matches, it’s a shame. The government should be fixing this now,” he said.
Shaibu Terry, a Sports Journalist with Tamale-based Bishara FM put the blame squarely on the Northern Regional Director of Sports at the NSA, Salamatu Adam, calling for her immediate removal.
“Some few years ago, I was one of the few Journalists who stood behind madam Salamatu when some cabal wanted to remove her for their personal gains, however with the current state of the Alhaji Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium, I honestly think Madam Sala is incompetent to manage the affairs of the stadium and must be removed for a competent person to manage the place,” Mr. Terry told said
“I am not surprised that Tamale is no longer getting the national attention when it comes to national teams’ assignments, just look at the toilets, the roof, and even the weeds at the car park have overgrown,” he added.
The Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium which hosted some matches during the 2008 African Cup of Nations has a capacity of about 21,000.
The stadium has also hosted other international matches including AFCON and World Cup qualifiers.
However, it has in recent times been rejected by CAF Club Licensing Officials for international matches due to its poor state.
Source: Ghanaweb