Baba Yara Sports Stadium (also Kumasi Sports Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kumasi, Ashanti. It is Ghana's largest stadium, with a seating capacity of 40,528. The Kumasi Stadium is used mostly for football matches, although it is also used for athletics. It is the home of Kumasi Asante Kotoko as well as King Faisal.[2]
Kumasi Sports Stadium | |
 | |
 | |
| Former names | Kumasi Sports Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana |
| Owner | Sports Council of Ashanti |
| Capacity | 40,528 [1] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1959 (first stands were built in 1971) |
| Project manager | United African Company (UAC) |
| Tenants | |
| Asante Kotoko Ghana national football team[1] | |
The Stadium which is known for hosting important games such as World cup qualifiers and AFCON qualifiers received it's heaviest backlash due to technical infraction and unsuitable playing field. This was due to a church program organized on the pitch thereby loosing it's license to host football matches of international standard s.[3]
History
editThe stadium was originally built by the United African Company (UAC) in 1957 and inaugurated as a designated football pitch in 1959. The first stands were constructed in 1971. The stadium was rebuilt in 1977. It was renamed after Kumasi-born footballer Baba Yara (1936–1969, active for Asante Kotoko 1955–1961) under the New Patriotic government in 2004.[4] The third major works ended in 2008. As part of the works, the west stand was demolished and replaced by a two-tier stand with press, corporate, and VIP facilities. The rest of the stands were upgraded, seats were added, and transparent panels were installed to separate the spectator area from the playing area in order to prevent pitch invasions.[2]
Tournaments
edit1978, 2000 and 2008 African Cup of Nations
editThe stadium hosted 6 group matches and one of the semi-final matches of the 1978 African Cup of Nations tournament. During the 2000 African Cup of Nations, the stadium hosted 7 matches.[5] It was later used for the 2008 African Cup of Nations. The Baba Yara stadium also hosted the Ghana and Nigeria match in the first leg of their World Cup playoff match on Friday March 25, 2022.
References
edit- ^ a b "Classic club: The great Porcupines of Africa". fifa.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ a b David Kyei (2008-01-06). "Kotoko to celebrate 50yrs of Kumasi Sports Stadium". Asante Kotoko. Archived from the original on 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
- ^ "CAF withdraws approval for Baba Yara Sports Stadium". 2024-09-11. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Wayo Seni (2008-01-30). "Sports News | Name the Tamale Stadium after Tanko Nasamu Name Stadium". Retrieved 2008-02-06. "To name the Kumasi Sports Stadium after him was the greatest monument to his name. That name has also been retained for the new sports stadium the government has built at the same site after demolishing the old stadium."
- ^ "BBC News Online – Africa – Sport – Cup of Nations – Venue Guide – Kumasi". BBC News.