Room carpet used to patch Ghana Premier League team’s Astroturf pitch

The home grounds of Ghana Premier League team Basake Holy Stars, the Cam Park at Anyinase has been patched with a room carpet after a part of the pitch came off.

Parts of the Astroturf pitch whipped off and, in an attempt, to restore the pitch to make it playable again, the room carpet was used as an alternative.

Long strips of the room carpet were used to patch mainly the center of the pitch. Some pictures shared on social media show brightly coloured green room carpets fixed in and around the center circle.

Another strip of the green room carpet was used to stitch up part of the pitch close to one of the goalposts.

This strange practice is unfortunate and reflects the poor maintenance culture of the various stadia in the country. Basake Holy Stars have not provided any explanations for the act yet.

The newly promoted side will travel to Berekum Chelsea on matchday eight of the Ghana Premier League on Sunday, November 3, 2024.

Their next home game will be against Accra Lions on November 8, 2024, and it remains to be seen if they will be allowed to host the game on the patched pitch.

Poor maintenance of stadia a national problem

Depending on the field's size, location, turf type, and equipment, Astroturf sports fields can cost anywhere from $7,000 to $23,000 annually to maintain, according to the Sports Venue Calculator website.

However, the country has continuously failed to maintain its football pitches.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) revoked Baba Yara Sports Stadium’s approval to host CAF Category C games, leaving Ghana without a single standard stadium for international matches in September.

A month later the Accra Sports Stadium was given the green light by CAF to host Ghana’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match against Sudan on October 10, 2024.

CAF expressed its satisfaction with the facility following the country's submission of both the Accra Sports Stadium and the Cape Coast Sports Stadium for inspection by the National Sports Authority.

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