The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, has disclaimed any responsibility for the National Sports Authority’s choice to lease the Accra Sports Stadium for musical performances.
He said that he had not given the NSA permission to use the location for concerts in December of last year instead of football games.
The Minister denied having any influence over the decision while testifying before the Public Accounts Committee on Monday, February 5.
“Our sporting facilities are primarily for us to use for talent development and competitions, both national and international,” he stated.
“No, I did not [give my approval for the sports stadium’s December closure]. I did call Peter Twumasi to inquire, and I am aware that the stadium was closed. I was really worried about the pitch.
“My main concern is how much we are getting from these social events that we are giving these facilities to, even though the NSA is the authority having the powers to manage all the sporting facilities for us and to ensure they are in good shape once we have a major tournament coming up—the Africa Games—and the Premiership is still going on.”
He claims that he requested that the stadium’s use for such events be discontinued in a conversation with Peter Twumasi.
“I have discussed this with the Director General, and I think that going forward, this should not be done because, in the end, whatever you get from these social events might not be enough to sustain the pitch,” he continued.
While the Ghana Premier League was still in play, the National Sports Authority closed the stadium for social events during the celebrations.
Ghanaians took offence when Hearts of Oak, Accra Lions, and Great Olympics requested to relocate their home games from the stadium because it was unavailable.
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