Former Black Stars midfielder Derek Boateng believes that the condition of the pitches in Ghana contributes significantly to the performance of the Black Stars.

Boateng told TV3 in an interview that with most of the Black Stars players being exposed to world-class pitches, playing on sub-standard ones has become a challenge for them.

He mentioned Thomas Partey as one of the players whose performance is heavily impacted by the quality of football pitches in the country.

“The FA needs to take action and do something because it's their job to ensure that the pitches are good. All they care about is the money. We have players who play on good fields in Europe, and they have to come to this pitch, and you expect them to perform well and win games.

“The FA knows what they must do. You don't expect Partey to play on the good pitch at Arsenal and perform on the poor pitches in Accra. They cannot put any pressure on any player that they are not performing well for the team. The GFA has to wake up and do something about those things,” he said.

Ghana is racing against time to get a venue for the next round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) banned the country from playing its home matches in the country.

CAF’s decision stems from the country’s inability to provide a stadium that meets the standard for a category of matches.

The Baba Yara Sports Stadium, which traditionally serves as the home venue for Ghana, had its conditional approval revoked following Ghana’s game against Angola on September 11, 2024.

Following the announcement by CAF, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Sports Authority have activated emergency measures to get a stadium in shape for the next round of qualifiers in October.

Works are ongoing at the Accra and Cape Coast stadiums to get them ready for the matches.

EK