Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has disclosed that government intends to close down the Accra Sports Stadium for renovations work after the March international window.
Ghana is set to host Chad in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Friday, March 21, 2025, at the stadium, the first time the facility will be hosting a football game since November 2024.
But four months of inactivity has not allowed authorities to fix glaring issues in the stadium, with the Minister suggesting the “Nation’s Wembley” is no longer fit for purpose.
“We have to close the Accra Sports Stadium to refurbish it and bring it up to standard,” he said in an interview with TV3.
“Following the assessment that we did, the engineers advised that the entire upper stand towards the independence square, must not be utilized because it has integrity issues, so we will not have supporters there.
“When we were assessing the floodlights, if you look at the knobs that hold the lights, everything is rusty.
“The stadium is virtually in a mess,” he concluded.
The Accra Sports Stadium last underwent major renovation works in 2018, ahead of that year’s Women’s AFCON tournament, which the country hosted.