Bawa Majeed, the Deputy Director General of the National Sports Authority, has addressed criticism regarding the condition of the Baba Yara Stadium following Ghana’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Angola. Responding to concerns about the stadium, Majeed sarcastically questioned if Angola had been “playing in the sky” during the match, implying that the complaints were exaggerated.
The pitch had already come under scrutiny before the match, with images circulating on social media highlighting its poor condition.
After the game, Ghana coach Otto Addo defended center-back Abdul Mumin’s error, blaming it in part to the pitch, which he called “not good.”
“Are they suggesting that the Angolans were playing in the sky? They are all footballers,” Bawa told Asempa FM.
“Those they assembled to play against the Black Stars are professionals. We assembled our professionals. They all played on the same pitch. So CAF has inspected the pitch and approved it for the game.
“Let’s just look at what happened. We might not be coaches but we follow and understand football. We all suspected and wanted, even the fans themselves were agitating for change in the 60th minute.”
Despite his team’s victory, Angola head coach Pedro Goncalves criticized the stadium’s condition, stating that “a country like Ghana deserves a better pitch and a better national stadium.”
The poor condition of the turf was due to a five-day ‘Kumuyi’ Church program held at the stadium in July.
The Black Stars will look to bounce back in their next match against Niger on Monday, September 9.
SOURCE: Joy Sports
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