A reliable Report has it that that the original match venue of the Cape Coast Stadium has been rejected by CAF after the stadium was seriously damaged during the Ghana’s 65th anniversary celebrations.
CAF had earlier rejected an application by Ghana for the match to be moved to the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi. CAF turned that application down because according to them, it fell outside the agreed deadline.
A statement from CAF revealed; "Considering the above, the request of change of venue is not accepted, hence the match Ghana Vs. Nigeria for the playoff round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers should be maintained at Cape Coast Stadium."
Currently, the inspection of the Cape Coast stadium is ongoing, but if both stadia (Cape Coast stadium and Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi) fail to meet the requirement provided by CAF, then, the Benin Republic, neighboring country of Nigeria may now host the first leg of the World Cup playoffs between the two West African rivals on March 25.
If it emerges that Ghana cannot provide a suitable venue for the clash, that will be a huge advantage for Nigeria, who share borders with Benin, since their fans could easily cross in numbers to support the Nigeria team.
By: Michael Djan
French Tutor and Digital Marketing Blogger/Content Writer and GhanaWeb Blogger @ frencheducationgh.com