The Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, has outlined several measures being implemented to improve sports infrastructure and management in Ghana.

Speaking in an interview with Sports Check on GhanaWebTV, Ampofo Ankrah acknowledged that Ghana’s sports facilities have suffered decades of neglect and stressed that the challenges cannot be resolved within a year and a half.

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According to him, his administration has instead focused on protecting existing facilities from further deterioration while putting systems in place to improve their maintenance.

He cited the Accra Sports Stadium as an example, explaining that greater attention is now being paid to the playing surface, which he described as the “jewel in the crown” of the facility.

He said a maintenance unit has also been established to ensure that sports facilities across the country are properly managed with the resources available.

“We have been able to at least ensure a cohesion, a cohesive, systematic means of trying to at least save what we have and not to get it worse, deteriorate,” he said.

Ampofo Ankrah also disclosed that the NSA is engaging the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to explore ways the football governing body can support the maintenance of pitches used for football matches.

He noted that while the NSA has the responsibility for maintaining the facilities, it requires support from the government, corporate Ghana and international partners to address the scale of the challenges.

Beyond pitch maintenance, he said the Authority is working to improve other areas of stadium infrastructure, including floodlights, washrooms, dressing rooms and drainage and irrigation systems.

He explained that plans are being considered to improve water management around stadiums by harvesting and recycling rainwater for use in maintaining playing surfaces.

The NSA boss also highlighted capacity building as another area of focus, revealing that staff and management have undergone training in modern sports management practices.

He said experts from France have been brought in to train management leaders and departmental heads as part of efforts to modernise the Authority's operations. Another initiative he described as successful was the introduction of pitch protectors.

According to him, the NSA partnered with an institution to secure pitch covers ahead of the Christmas period last year, helping to protect the playing surface from damage and preventing the prolonged deterioration of pitches during the festive period.

Ampofo Ankrah further disclosed that the NSA has intensified engagements with corporate Ghana to secure financial and technical support for sports infrastructure.

He believes increased collaboration with the private sector and international partners will be crucial to mobilising the capital needed to transform Ghana's sports facilities.

PAH/JKB

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