The Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kurt E. S. Okraku has led a delegation to inspect a site acquired for the construction of an astro turf under the FIFA Forward 1.0 initiative at Winkogo in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
Kurt Okraku touched down at about mid-day on Wednesday at the Tamale International Airport in the company of some high profile personalities from the GFA and met on arrival by the chairman of the Northern Regional Football Association (NRFA) Alhaj Abu Hassan Mahamadu Rhyzo and other dignitaries.
The team then proceeded to the Upper East Regional Capital Bolgatanga where the football capo in Ghana begun his visit to the north by paying courtesy calls on chiefs in the traditional area. Speaking during the courtesy call Kurt Okraku thanked the chiefs for providing for free a 5acres land for the project at Winkogo in the outskirts of Bolga.
The actual construction will begin in October, 2020 which when completed will ease the burden of teams from the Upper East Region having to pitch camp in Tamale anytime there are GFA sanctioned matches of grade A nature.
It would be recalled that when Bolga Allstars qualified to play in the Ghana Premier League some seasons ago, they had to use the Tamale Sports Stadium which didn’t help their course as they were relegated again for lack of support. Other Division One League (DOL) teams in the area have had it tough playing in the DOL for lack of standard fields. Notably, Tanga FC had to pull out of the DOL some seasons ago over a suitable venue for their matches. However, should this astro turf be completed, this will become a thing of the past.
The GFA president will continue with his visit to the north on Thursday as he will inspect ongoing works at some major football pitches in Tamale under the auspices of the chairman of the NRFA Alhaj Abu Hassan Mahamadu Rhyzo. The Eagles football park, Reps Football Park and others at the old Kaladan Park will be visited. Alhaj Rhyzo funded ongoing works on those pitches with phase one of those at the completion stage. There are also other pitches currently being worked on close to the Tamale Sports Stadium Annex.
Kurt Okraku will then proceed to Yendi where he would pay a courtesy call on the Yaa-Naa Abukari Mahama.
The GFA president will subsequently return to base thereafter.
