Save in the form of 'susu' -Minister
President Kufuor and CAF President, Issa Hayatou were co-hosts recently in Accra for the draw of the groups in January's continental football fiesta in Ghana and also outdoor the tournament's mascot. After the razzmatazz, some realities are now staring this great footballing nation in the face. ADM has been hearing grouses from some locals who are not enthused due to their shallow pockets.
They have expressed disappointment and threatened not go to the stadiums during the Ghana 2008 tournament running from January 20 to February 10 2008.
This is because of the Ministry for Education Science and Sport's announcement that the Ghana 2008 matches will attract a minimum gate fee of GH?10.00 (100,000 old cedis) for the "popular stand" and a maximum of GH? 200.00 (2,000,000 old cedis) for the VIP section.
The middle seats will attract GH? 20.00 (200,000 old cedis).Corporate boxes will attract special fees.
Earlier speculation had predicted that the gate fees could be as low as GH?5.00. This speculated figure was embraced by Ghanaians, especially football enthusiasts, as being realistic.
Some people who spoke to ADM said though they would love to watch the matches live at the new stadiums, the gate fees wouldn't allow them to enter the stadiums.
Christian Asamoah, a tailor, told ADM that the ministry in charge of sports and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) did not think of the ordinary Ghanaian before arriving at the gate fees.
"How can they bring such an amount and expect Ghanaians to go to the stadiums in full to cheer the Stars and watch other matches, it is impossible and totally unacceptable".
Mr. Asamoah popularly known as Beckham said if the government and the organizers are not want to avoid empty stadiums after the opening matches then they should "do something" about the gate fees immediately. "They should remember that this is the first time and the whole world is watching us to see how Ghanaians are going to make the tournament cheerful and a success" he said.
He said the organizers should remember that the tournament would not take place in Accra alone but also in Tamale, Kumasi, and Takoradi. People in the northern regions known to be the poorest regions in the country, he said, cannot raise those amounts of money to watch the tournaments.
He appealed to the authorities to "do something" about the fees quickly, so that, everybody, including the poor would have access to the stadiums.
Mr. Emmanuel Mensah, a self-confessed football fanatic, simply said: "I will sit by my television set and watch all the matches. It is an unfortunate decision by the LOC. I don't know the logic behind their calculation. If they get only two people paying GH?100.00 and four people paying GH?5.00, my brother, the value is the same, but, do you know the advantage for the latter? You have four people cheering the Black Stars on instead of two. They should expect empty stadiums at all venues."
Ms. Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports in response to the concerns raised at a press briefing in Accra said, " there is nothing that we can do because we have sent the amount to be charged to CAF and they have approved it".
She urged Ghanaians to start putting money down in the form of 'susu' so that when the time is due money will not be a problem. "That is what I am also going to do to earn money to pay the gate fees and watch all the matches. This is an international tournament so I don't think the amount to be charged is too much", she said.
Ms. Ohene said the government has built four state of the art stadiums and constructed fifteen training centers including the refurbished El-Wak stadium across the country at the tournament venues for the sixteen teams which will be participating in the African Cup of Nations.
The stadiums have seating capacities of over 40,000 in Kumasi and Accra, and over 20,000 in SeKondi and Tamale.
The fifteen training centers, some of which are located in the country's educational institutions are at their final stages of completion. The refurbished El-Wak stadium is already in use for local and international matches. The four stadiums will be handed over to the sports authority this month and the training centers by next month.
Giving an assessment of progress in various stadiums and training centres, she assured Ghanaians that "there is no need to panic and all the facilities, which are part of the legacy of Ghana 2008, will be ready for the tournament"
