Deputy Sports Minister Pius Enam Hadzide says the Essipong Stadium will be ready ahead of the West Africa Football Union Tournament to be hosted in Ghana.

The regional tournament will be hosted in two cities, Sekondi Takoradi and Cape Coast. The Essipong Stadium which has not been in use for some time now looks to be in bad shape but the minister has assured stakeholders the edifice will be in shape before time.

“We have to put the [Essipong] stadium in good condition by renovating it before we can use it to host the WAFU competition,” stated the deputy minister in an interview with the Daily Graphic.

Mr Hadzide, who was part of the delegation that assessed the state of the stadium, said his outfit would institute stringent measures to ensure that sports facilities in Ghana were regularly maintained.

“Ghana could save so much money if stringent maintenance procedures were adhered to. We should not leave our sporting facilities to deteriorate before searching for funds to rehabilitate them.”