Paramount Chief of the Navrongo Traditional Area in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region, Pe Dennis Aneakwoa Belinia Adda Asagpaare II, has pleaded with the government to ensure that the Navrongo Multi-purpose Sports Stadium / Youth Resource Center is completed and handed over for use.
According to the revered Paramount Chief, the people of Navrongo and the entire Upper East Region would be more grateful to the government if the Sports Stadium is completed to save the region from the continuous denial of Division One matches.
Pe Dennis Aneakwoa Belinia Adda Asagpaare II, was speaking at a ceremony in Navrongo during the visit of President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Kassena-Nankana Municipality to commission the Tono Water Treatment Plant on Friday, August 5.
The Navrongo Multi-purpose Sports Stadium / Youth Resource Center project being executed by Amecben Construction Ltd was earlier scheduled to be completed before December 2020, unfortunately construction work on the project has been halted for reasons that have remained on the chests of government and the constructors.
The Upper East Region has never had a standard green field for over 40 years, unfortunately the recent Zongo Ministry Astro Turfs constructed in the Bolgatanga Municipality does not meet the Ghana Football Association(GFA) standard and so it cannot be used for any officially sanctioned football matches by the FA in the region.
For over 4 seasons all Division One clubs that qualified from the region got relegated the same season because they played their home and aways in Tamale, which does not favour the clubs, considering the cost of traveling from Upper East Region to Tamale for home matches and to other regions for away matches.
The club that qualified for 2022/2023 Division One League, Kassena-Nankana United is most likely to drop out of the league due to management’s inability to bear the cost of playing all their home matches in Tamale.
The Navrongo stadium as popularly called is over 85 percent completed and with a deliberate commitment to complete the project, the Upper East Region can revive the interest in football again.
If this facility is completed and handed over for use, it will be the first FIFA Standard Sport Stadium in the Upper East Region since the commencement of football in the region.
The construction of the stadium was divided into phases; first phase was to see the completion of structural works on the VIP Stand and three other stands(A, B and C). Also included in the first phase is the athletics tracks area and a green grass field.
The second phase is where the contractor will be fixing chairs and other fittings in all sections of the facility.
There was a third phase which was at the request of the then Sports Minister, Isaac Asiamah and the then Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central, Joseph Kofi Adda. This phase will see the building of structures for accommodation to be used for camping for clubs and other groups as well as individuals.
Over the years, Sports investors and Coaches have had to watch their investments go waste due to the lack of standard facilities in the region.
From: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Navrongo