Government has shelved plans for the construction of a 50,000 capacity multisport stadium at Borteyman for the hosting of the 2023 African Games.

This was revealed in parliament by sports minister Mustapha Ussif. The decision to scrap the Borteyman project is as a result of delays in executing the project.

The University of Ghana’s uncompleted Stadium, will now be the center of the games, together with other sports infrastructure nationwide while facilities such as a warm up area are set to be added to the University of Ghana stadium to ensure it is fit for purpose.

President Akufo-Addo in October 2020 announced that land had been acquired to construct a stadium in Borteyman to host the games but the sports minister while answering questions on the floor of parliament said government will not be able to construct the facility because of time constraints. He said government will rather focus on building necessary facilities on the land to aid the Legon Stadium.

The minister blamed the delays in constructing the Borteyman stadium on covid 19.

“The pandemic delayed the start of the procurement process for the construction of this required facility for the game,” Ussif said.

He added that “Due to time constraints, various options were reviewed, some of the facilities for the refurbishment reviewed include, the Accra Sports Stadium, the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Cape Coast Stadium, the Winneba College and the Legon Stadium.

The 13th edition of the African Games is expected to be held in 3 cities in Ghana in the year 2023 on dates yet to be confirmed.