Baba Yara pitch will be better after extensive rehabilitation - NSA assures

The Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, has defended the ongoing rehabilitation of the Baba Yara Sports Stadium pitch, insisting that the extensive work was necessary to remove weeds that had taken over much of the playing surface.

His comments come after videos showing grounds staff scraping and clearing the pitch sparked widespread criticism on social media, with many questioning the methods being used to restore one of Ghana's premier football venues.

Speaking during an inspection of the Accra Sports Stadium pitch, Ampofo Ankrah explained that a similar rehabilitation process had previously been carried out in Accra, but it attracted little attention because the "dirty work" was never filmed.

He disclosed that the situation at the Baba Yara Stadium was significantly worse than many people realised, revealing that nearly 60 per cent of what appeared to be healthy grass was actually weeds.

"At the Accra Sports Stadium, you can still see a few portions that are weeds, but it is minimal. At Baba Yara, about 60 per cent of what people thought was grass was actually weeds," he said.

According to the NSA boss, the only lasting solution was to completely remove the weeds from their roots before establishing a healthy grass surface.

"We needed to go right down to the soil and remove the roots. That is why you saw the groundsmen and women doing what they did," he explained.

'While fans are unhappy, football people are happy with Kurt' – Ampofo Ankrah

Ampofo Ankrah acknowledged that the rehabilitation process may have created a negative public perception but stressed that the focus should be on the long-term results rather than the temporary appearance of the pitch.

"The optics may not have been good, but somebody has to do the dirty work. It is our responsibility to ensure that the work is done properly," he stated.

He assured Ghanaians that the Baba Yara pitch would soon return to a high standard, expressing confidence that it could even surpass the current condition of the Accra Sports Stadium pitch.

"In the next few weeks, you will see the grass back to its normal state. We did the same thing at the Accra Sports Stadium; the only difference is that nobody filmed the dirty work that had to be done," he said.

The NSA Director-General also revealed that the Authority intends to adopt modern technology in future pitch maintenance to eliminate weeds more efficiently without relying on what some have described as traditional methods.

"Going forward, technology means we can get equipment that attacks the weeds at the root without resorting to traditional, or what some call archaic, methods. But there is a method to the madness, and we need to get results," he said.

Ampofo Ankrah further urged the public to channel their energy into advocating for increased investment in sports infrastructure instead of focusing on the temporary state of the pitch.

"If there's an agenda, the agenda should be why don't we all make enough noise to get more money so our pitches can be like the ones we're enjoying at the World Cup. It can be done, but we need resources, we need funds, and it has to be sustainable," he added.

PAH/MA

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