In the latest communication from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the Baba Yara Stadium has been deemed unfit to host any CAF or FIFA sanctioned games for the foreseeable future.

The Kumasi-based match venue was handed a one-match only license to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier play-off encounter between Ghana and Nigeria last month.

The Black Stars were looking to return to the Baba Yara Stadium for the qualifiers of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations following the draw on Tuesday, April but the football governing body on the continent has communicated to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) that the venue will not be able to host games for the foreseeable future.

In a new development, the CAF inspector who assessed the Baba Yara Stadium before the playoff game against the Super Eagles identified as many as 19 structural and systematic problems with the stadium, of which were given the nod to be sorted prior to the clash.

However, the highest football governing body on the continent is not ready to allow international games to continue in Kumasi without these outlined problems being fixed.

As part of their suggestion, CAF also urged the National Sports Authority to consider complete renovation and refurbishment work to meet the requirements in order to make the stadium available for international games.

In a letter released by CAF, here are the 19 problems identified at the Baba Yara Stadium:

1. The field of play is full green especially from the far range however, it has some few weeds and a lot of debris. Needs raking to remove debris and make room for more healthy grass to pop up so as to maintain the full green grass.
2. Team technical benches must be increased to (21) seats each side.
3. The referees’ bench is not up to international standards. Need to install standard referees’ benches like the teams’ technical benches.
4. The intensity of floodlighting is below the minimum CAF requirement (1200 LUX).
5. The main team dressing rooms have 22 seats each but more 5 seats have been placed around the route/pathway to the main changing rooms to an extent that the 5 players at the pathway hardly see the other players and coaches. Reorganize the dressing rooms by removing some of the walls/blocks in the area in order to have one single orderly room.
6. There is need to increase the number of toilets in the players rooms from 2 to 5 (Can reduce on the washrooms since each dressing room has 12 shower rooms).
7. The meeting room is not set to international standard. There is a need to organise and provide enough up to standard seats and tables in the meeting room to meet the international standard.
8. Equip the referees’ dressing room with all the necessary materials and equipments as per international standards.
9. Stabilize water supply for the whole stadium.
10. Existent doping room is not up to the required standards. The doping room appears to be temporally set with office chairs and temporally separation of the doping officers’ room and the waiting room. There is a need to set up a permanent well-quipped doping room.
11. Some of the sanitary facilities for fans are in a bad state.
12. Pathways for persons with disabilities should have signage to avoid being inconvenienced by other persons.
13. The press conference room is temporary organised (all seats, podium, PAS and table are temporary arranged) and not up to CAF stadium standards. Need to permanently set up a modern standard press conference room.
14. The media Centre must be improved to meet all the CAF requirements.
15. The media tribune must be improved to meet all the CAF requirements.
16. There is need to permanently set up the Photographers’ areas behind the goals.
17. Commentary box area not up to the CAF requirements. The is need to enclose the commentary area to limit interferences from the fans and guests as they get to the VIP & VVIP areas.
18. The stadium is not equipped with modern electronic access controls
19. The Venue Operations Centre (VOC) is not up to the required standards. It must be completely renovated, and installation of modern electronic equipment is required.