The Deputy Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Bawa Majeed, has responded to criticism about the state of the Baba Yara Stadium.
The state of the pitch has dominated the headlines following the Black Stars’ defeat to Angola in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers on Thursday.
Ghana suffered a 1-0 defeat against the Palacras Negras
After the game, Ghana coach Otto Addo defended centre-back Abdul Mumin’s mistake, attributing it in part to the pitch, which he described as “not good.”
Despite the criticisms, Majeed ironically asked whether Angola played in the sky.
“Are they suggesting that the Angolans were playing in the sky? They are all footballers,” Bawa told Asempa FM.
“Those they assembled to play against the Black Stars are professionals. We assembled our professionals. They all played on the same pitch. So CAF has inspected the pitch and approved it for the game.
“Let’s just look at what happened. We might not be coaches but we follow and understand football. We all suspected and wanted, even the fans themselves were agitating for change in the 60th minute.”
Angola head coach Pedro Goncalves had criticised the state of the stadium despite his team’s victory, insisting that “a country like Ghana deserves a better pitch and a better national stadium.”
The defeat leaves Ghana in third place, with Angola and Sudan occupying the first and second spots in Group F, respectively.
The Black Stars will look to bounce back in their next match against Niger on Monday, September 9.
Meanwhile, the NSA have announced the closure of the Baba Yara Stadium for a month due to it poor state.
