GFA wants the first leg of their encounter against the Eagles moved from Cape Coast Stadium to Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi by CAF
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has dismissed a request from the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to move the venue of their 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff against Nigeria in March.
Nigeria qualified to the playoff after a nervy draw with Cape Verde in Lagos, topping their group in the process, while Ghana edged South Africa out in their group to set up the clash.
The GFA is seeking to move the first leg of the tie away from the original venue, the Cape Coast Stadium, and move the match to the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.
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The Cape Coast Stadium is the venue of the country’s Independence Day celebration on March 6, which is less than two weeks away from the qualifier between Ghana and Nigeria.
CAF in response cited its law, which states that the opposing team and FIFA must be notified of the venue of a match by the home team three months before the game is played.
The football governing body, therefore, rejected the request from GFA because their plea failed to meet the 3 months notice requirement.
“The FIFA World Cup 2022 preliminary competition regulations in its article 21 venues, kick-off times and training sessions stipulate that: The venues of matches shall be set by the host association and/or by the confederation, as applicable, and the matches may only be played in stadiums that have been inspected and approved by the confederation concerned.
” The opponents and the FIFA general secretariat shall be notified by the host association and/or by the confederation, as applicable, at least three months before the match in question is due to be played,” a statement from CAF read
