“We will invest in sports facilities; they play a crucial role in a 24-hour economy,” said John Dramani Mahama.

The Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Mahama, emphasized his commitment to enhancing sports infrastructure in Ghana.

Speaking with media practitioners at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra on Sunday, July 7, 2024, Mahama highlighted the critical need to upgrade facilities for track and field events and address the deterioration of football pitches.

He also emphasized the importance of supporting lesser-known sports to promote a more inclusive sports development strategy nationwide.

During Mahama’s administration in 2016, Ghana saw the construction and inauguration of the Cape Coast Stadium, a state-of-the-art facility boasting a seating capacity of 16,000.

This $35 million project, financed through a grant from China, was a cornerstone of his broader vision to enhance sports infrastructure across the country.

In recent years, Ghana has faced challenges in hosting major sporting events due to the lack of a world-class facility. Concerns have been raised over the deteriorating conditions of the Accra Sports Stadium, Baba Yara Sports Stadium, and Essipong Stadium in Sekondi.

When questioned about plans for constructing a world-class football stadium, Mahama acknowledged that given the current economic conditions, Ghana might not be ready to bid for hosting tournaments in the near future.

However, he underscored that enhancing infrastructure in the sports sector remains critical for any government.

We don’t have a world class standard Sports Stadium, we’ve been to several countries to watch matches.

I have been to Wembley Stadium before, it is a stadium of a different class from what we have here in the country and often countries are energized to build this stadia if you bid to host something, if there’s an opportunity because you know you will get returns from the investment.

In the current crisis in which we are, i will not stand here and promise that we will build a new stadium, but i have said that under the big push, we intend to spend a certain amount of money over five years on providing a good infrastructure including road, bridges, agro industrial parks and so on and so forth, that could include sports facilities.

If you go to many countries, sports plays a good path in the 24 hour economy and so you find games played at night, but in our part of the country we can have games at night.