‘GFA not responsible for poor pitches’ – Club Licensing Board

Chairman of the Club Licensing Board, Dr. Kwame Baah-Nuakoh, has said the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is not responsible for the bad state of pitches in the country.

According to him, the ultimate responsibility lies with the clubs, who are at liberty to decide which ground hosts their games.

Pitches across the country that host matches in the Ghana Premier League and other lower-tier divisions have come under the spotlight in recent years.

While a few of them are decent enough, the majority have been left in deplorable states, which makes it difficult for free-flowing football.

“When it comes to pitches, it’s all about investment. The GFA is not responsible for the pitches, it’s the clubs,” Baah-Nuakoh said.

“The clubs are responsible for deciding which pitch they want to move [to]. Over the years, the Club Licensing Board has been trying to encourage clubs to maintain and improve [pitches].

“You cannot tell me that there is a venue in the Premier League which has not seen any improvement since club licensing [started]. It might not be up to the standard that you see in Morocco. There is not a single venue in Ghana that has not seen any changes.”

Meanwhile, the GFA has released the fixture list for the upcoming 2023/24 Ghana Premier League season.

Champions Medeama SC will kickstart their title defence with a tricky test at home against Accra Lions, while runners-up Aduana FC will face FC Samartex away.

Asante Kotoko will also host newly-promoted side Heart of Lions at the Baba Yara Stadium on the opening day of the season.

Their rivals, Hearts of Oak, are also set to travel to Tamale as guests of Real Tamale United (RTU), in what promises to be an exciting season opener.

Meanwhile, the biggest fixture on the land – the Super Clash between Hearts and Kotoko – will take place on matchday 14.

The Phobians will host the first Super Clash at the Accra Sports Stadium, with the return fixture scheduled for matchday 31 in Kumasi.

In all, 306 matches will be played across the various league centres as 17 other teams aim to dethrone champions Medeama.

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