Otto Addo bemoans possibility of Black Stars playing home qualifiers abroad

Ghana head coach Otto Addo has bemoaned the country’s inability to produce a CAF-standard stadium, describing the situation as a real pity.

The country currently has no stadium that meets the requirements to host Category 3 international matches.

This follows CAF’s decision to withdraw its approval for the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, which was Ghana’s only approved venue for high-profile games.

The deplorable state of the stadium came under the spotlight following the Black Stars’ AFCON qualifier against Angola last Thursday.

Addo’s side lost 1-0 to the Palancas Negras in their opening qualifying game, with many attributing the defeat to the deplorable state of the pitch.

Speaking on the sidelines of a CAF symposium for coaches in the Ivory Coast, the Ghana coach said he was already preparing for the prospect of playing the next AFCON qualifier against Sudan outside Ghana.

“It’s really a pity that it has happened like this. Surely, we always want to play in front of our home fans, but at the end of the day we have to make the best out of the situation,” Addo told Ghanaian journalist Micky Jnr.

“If we have to play somewhere and it’s like that, then I don’t want to use my energy to think too much about it because it’s not in our hands and there’s nothing we can do about it.

“It’s a CAF decision and we have to do our best about it. But I hope that if we will be able to play at home, then we quickly manage everything so that we can play at home for our crowd to see us.”

Meanwhile, the Black Stars now face the embarrassing prospect of playing their home matches abroad, especially with a 2025 AFCON qualifier against Sudan scheduled for early October.

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