Kumasi Sports Stadium | |
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| Former names | Kumasi Sports Stadium |
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| 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 (alsoKumasi Sports Stadium) is amulti-purpose stadium inKumasi,Ashanti. It is Ghana'slargest stadium, with aseating capacity of 40,528.The Kumasi Stadium is used mostly forfootball matches, although it is also used forathletics. It is the home of KumasiAsante Kotoko as well asKing 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 theUnited African Company (UAC) in 1957 andinaugurated 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 footballerBaba Yara (1936–1969, active for Asante Kotoko 1955–1961) under theNew 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 preventpitch invasions.[2]
The stadium hosted 6 group matches and one of the semi-final matches of the1978 African Cup of Nations tournament. During the2000 African Cup of Nations, the stadium hosted 7 matches.[5] It was later used for the2008 African Cup of Nations. The Baba Yara stadium also hosted theGhana and Nigeria match in the first leg of their World Cup playoff match on Friday March 25, 2022.
6°40′57.65″N1°36′18.40″W / 6.6826806°N 1.6051111°W /6.6826806; -1.6051111
Asante Kotoko | ||
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| Club Information |  | |
| Stadia | ||
| Training Ground | ||
| History | ||