The World Cup Playoff match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Black Stars of Ghana will now take place at the popular Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Ghana.
The fixture, originally scheduled to be played at the Cape Coast Stadium in Accra on March 25, 2022 between the two West African giants, will go ahead as planned but in a different venue.
It was speculated that the fixture could be moved from the Cape Coast Stadium in Ghana to Cotonou, the capital of Benin Republic.
A Confederation of African Footbal (CAF) inspection team inspected facilities at the Cape Coast Stadium and later visited the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi. The team was totally dissatisfied with the playing pitch at the Cape Coast stadium and decided that there was urgent need for a change of venue.
They further embarked on an inspection tour of the Babayara Sports Stadium in Kumasi which has now been approved by CAF and has also recieved the blessing of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
In a telephone conversation with a top official of the NFF, he told our reporter that the match with Ghana willl now be played in Kumasi. According to him, all the NFF wanted wass a good playing pitch that will afford our players the opportunity to give their optimum.
‘We know that we have better players who, on a good day will beat this Ghanaian team silly even on home soil. That explains why they wanted to take us to the very bad Cape Coast pitch which CAF described as totally unplayable. We have agreed to go to Kumasi on March 25th and hopefully, we will come back with a win.
“Beyond the football on the field of play, Nigeria and Ghana are brothers. We have maintained a very cordial relationship over the years and we will not want to stain this friendship because of football. It will be unfair for them to begin to imagine that Nigeria is using her influence in CAF and FIFA to get decisions in their favour.
“Every CAF or FIFA representative must fight for the common interests of member nations and not promote personal agendas at the detriment of other countries,” he concluded.
The Super Eagles will depart Nigeria in a chartered flight on Wednesday, March 23, for Kumasi and will return to Abuja for the return leg billed for the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, on March 29.
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