Asante Kotoko’s Ashanti Regional Circles Chairman, Alex Manu, has raised concerns about the state of the Baba Yara Sports Stadium after the National Sports Authority (NSA) completed renovation works at the facility.

The stadium was closed for renovations after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) withdrew its approval due to technical infractions, including an unsuitable playing field, following Ghana’s game against Angola in September 2024.

However, on Thursday, October 28, 2024, the NSA issued a communique granting Asante Kotoko—who had adopted the Obuasi Len Clay Sports Stadium as their home ground—the green light to return to their traditional venue.

Despite this, Alex Manu, in an interview with Happy FM, revealed that the pitch was not in ideal condition during their FA Cup Round of 64 game but assured fans it would be ready for the game against Hearts of Oak.

“It wasn’t that great, but it could be because it was left idle during the renovations. It wasn’t that green, but I’m sure our return will prompt them to start watering the pitch so it can return to its natural state. I believe it’ll be ready before we play Hearts of Oak because the two-week break will be used to improve it,” he said.

Manu further expressed disappointment with the low turnout of fans during their game against Future Stars, despite expectations of strong support.

“The support we were expecting was far from the number of people that came. We literally played in an empty stadium. But it could be because of the late announcement of our return to the stadium. With the subsequent games, I believe there’ll be enough fans,” he added.

Asante Kotoko marked their return to the Baba Yara Sports Stadium with a convincing 2-0 win over Future Stars, thanks to an Albert Amoah second-half brace.

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