Asante Kotoko fans must have heard the best of news they crave for following the assurance by the Board Chairman of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Kojo Baah Agyemang that the Baba Yara sports stadium will be ready for use by the close of the year.
The stadium, which has served as the home grounds for Asante Kotoko since time immemorial, was closed down for renovation works following government’s decision to give the various national stadia a facelift since their construction in 2008. The closure of the stadium meant that football fans in Kumasi, especially fans of Asante Kotoko have been starved for long with no access to watch their darling club (s) play in Kumasi.
The renovation works were initially scheduled to be completed in October this year, but for the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, work has been moving in slow pace, moving the completion date further.
With football set for a most awaited return on November 14, fans in and around Kumasi would have to travel to the greater Accra region (Accra sports stadium) where Kotoko will be playing their home matches to have access to watching football while at the stadium. The situation has caused great concerns among the football fans in Kumasi, but the NSA Board chairman has good news for them.
“Per the initial arrangement, the stadium was supposed to be ready by October, but as we are all aware, we’re not in normal times. a lot has changed in the world.
“The happenings in this Covid-19 period affected the progress of work at the facility.
“I have engaged the contractor on site and he has assured the stadium should be ready by close of the year”, the NSA Board Chair assured, speaking to Kumasi based Silver 98.3 FM.