Kumasi Sports Stadium | |
Former names | Kumasi Sports Stadium |
---|---|
Location | Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana |
Owner | Sports Council of Ashanti |
Capacity | 40,528 [1] |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Opened | 1959 (first stands were built in 1971) |
Project manager | United African Company (UAC) |
Tenants | |
Asante Kotoko Ghana national football team [1] |
Baba Yara Sports Stadium (also Kumasi Sports Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kumasi, Ashanti. It is Ghana's largest stadium, with a seating capacity of 40,528. The Kumasi Stadium is used mostly for football matches, although it is also used for athletics. It is the home of Kumasi Asante Kotoko as well as King Faisal. [2]
The Stadium which is known for hosting important games such as World cup qualifiers and AFCON qualifiers received its heaviest backlash due to technical infraction and unsuitable playing field. This was due to a church program organized on the pitch thereby losing its license to host football matches of international standard s. [3]
The stadium was originally built by the United African Company (UAC) in 1957 and inaugurated as a designated football pitch in 1959. The first stands were constructed in 1971. The stadium was rebuilt in 1977. It was renamed after Kumasi-born footballer Baba Yara (1936–1969, active for Asante Kotoko 1955–1961) under the New Patriotic government in 2004. [4] The third major works ended in 2008. As part of the works, the west stand was demolished and replaced by a two-tier stand with press, corporate, and VIP facilities. The rest of the stands were upgraded, seats were added, and transparent panels were installed to separate the spectator area from the playing area in order to prevent pitch invasions. [2]
The stadium hosted 6 group matches and one of the semi-final matches of the 1978 African Cup of Nations tournament. During the 2000 African Cup of Nations, the stadium hosted 7 matches. [5] It was later used for the 2008 African Cup of Nations. The Baba Yara stadium also hosted the Ghana and Nigeria match in the first leg of their World Cup playoff match on Friday March 25, 2022.
The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as host. Just like in 1998, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four.
Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, simply known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional football club founded on 31 August 1935 and based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Nicknamed the Porcupine Warriors, they compete in the Ghana Premier League and play their home matches at the Baba Yara Stadium in Amakom, Kumasi.
The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament was staged at four venues around Ghana between 20 January and 10 February 2008. This was the last Africa Cup of Nations to use the old CAF logo.
Isaac Boakye is a former professional footballer who played as striker for most of his career in Germany, Arminia Bielefeld, VfL Wolfsburg, 1. FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Nürnberg. In his native land, he featured for Goldfields Obuasi now Ashanti Gold and Asante Kotoko. He won the Ghana Premier League twice playing for Asante Kotoko. He won it in his first season in 2003 and his last playing season in 2014, which came about as a result making a return to the club after 10 years of playing abroad.
Hamza Mohammed is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Real Tamale United for eight years before joining Kumasi Asante Kotoko in 2002. Mohammed also featured for the Ghana Black Starlets, Black Satellites, Black Meteors, and the Black Stars. He captained the Black Satellites in 1999 and was in the Black Stars squad that took part in the 2006 and 2002 African Cup of Nations. Mohammed was deputy captain of the Black Starlets squad for the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship. Mohammed is currently the Head Coach of Ghana Division One League club Tamale City Football Club.
Ibrahim Sunday is a Ghanaian former professional football player and coach. A midfielder, he played the majority of his career for Ghanaian club Asante Kotoko, and was also a member of the Ghana national team, participating in two Africa Nations Cup tournaments. In 1971, he won the African Footballer of the Year award. He is the first ever African footballer to appear in the Bundesliga.
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Kwame Boahene is a Ghanaian professional footballer. He plays for Asante Kotoko in the Glo Premier League of Ghana. He was part of the Ghana national U-20 team that won silver at the 2013 African Youth Championships and bronze at the 2013 FIFA U-20 Tournament. He plays as a winger/ attacking midfielder or second striker.
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Baba Yara was a Ghanaian international football player. He was popularly known as the ''King of Wingers''.
Samuel Paa Kwesi Fabin is a Ghanaian professional football manager. He is the current coach of the Ghana national U-23 team. He is a former coach Ghana Premier League teams; coaching stars like Asante Kotoko, Accra Hearts of Oak and Aduana Stars He previously coached the Ghana national U-17 team leading them to 2nd place in the 2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.
Daniel Afriyie Barnieh is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Swiss Super League club Zürich.
Ismail Abdul-Ganiyu is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as defender and captains Ghana Premier League side Asante Kotoko S.C.
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Haruna Yusif is a Ghanaian former professional footballer. During his playing career he played as a defender specially as a left-back for Kumasi Cornerstones and Kumasi Asante Kotoko. At the international level, he is known for his involvement in the squad that won the 1978 African Cup of Nations and 1982 African Cup of Nations.
The 2023 WAFU Zone B U-20 Women's Cup is the inaugural edition of the WAFU Zone B U20 Women's Cup, the international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of the West African Football Union Zone B, the tournament is scheduled to take place in Ghana between 20 May and 3 June 2023.