Develop Grass Seeds To Fix Pitch Issues Ghana Government Told

UK-based football analyst Kwadwo Adjei Gyimah has called on the Ghanaian government to prioritise the development of grass seeds to address the country's ongoing pitch issues.

This follows CAF's recent decision to ban the Baba Yara Stadium, Ghana's only approved venue for international matches, due to an "unsuitable playing field" among other concerns, leading to the withdrawal of its license.

In an interview with JoySports, Gyimah emphasized the importance of infrastructure development for football.

"It is very significant that if we were a country that needs to be taken seriously about football, we have to also focus on the infrastructure, and one of the key things we have to focus on will have to be the pitches," he said.

Gyimah highlighted the need to develop grass seeds suited to Ghana’s conditions, adding, "There are different seeds of different grasses that do well in every horizon, and then we have to pay more attention in developing these seeds and making sure that we have such a very standard pitch for all of us to play football on."

He also criticized how pitches in Ghana are used for events beyond football, affecting their quality. "Believe you me, there are a lot of things you cannot do on these pitches here [UK]. In Ghana, we're having concerts, all sorts of programs on these pitches. We are not protecting these pitches, our drainage system is very bad," Gyimah added.

The current stadium crisis might force the Black Stars to host their next 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match abroad, with Togo, Nigeria, or Ivory Coast as potential venues.

Ghana will face Sudan on October 10, hoping to improve after a slow start to the qualifiers with just one point from two matches following a loss to Angola and a draw with Niger in Group F.