AFCON 2027Q: Ghana to host Somalia in Sekondi

The Sekondi Sports Stadium will host Ghana’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Somalia, the Ghana Football Association has confirmed.

This follows a temporary approval by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the match slated for November 12, 2026.

GFA President Kurt Okraku disclosed this on Wednesday afternoon, when he met Parliament’s Select Committee on Youth, Sports and Culture.

CAF could only grant temporary approval for the facility since significant aspects of the stadium are yet to meet standard licensing requirements.

The recent renovation works only covered the replacement of the roof, the replacement of all seats, the washrooms, the VIP area, and the scoreboard.

To comply with CAF standards, the Sekondi Sports Stadium must expand its dressing room to 24 lockers per team, install water heaters, and other fittings required for a modern dressing room.

CAF also requires fully functional drainage and irrigation systems that support a quality playing surface.

It also requires a functional CCTV surveillance system, automated access control, or electronic spectator counting.

The stadium’s mechanisms for crowd management, emergency evacuation systems, media facilities, and security systems would all have to be fixed.

At the moment, the media stand only had foldable, plastic seats. To meet CAF standards, the media section would need reliable internet connectivity, with significant enhancements to the conference room for post-match engagements. The media requirements include a permanent photographer's area and a setup behind the goalposts with proper seats, power extensions, and Wi-Fi/cables.

Although these are yet to be fixed, CAF has granted approval for what will be the stadium's second competitive game since reopening.

Last month, the facility hosted the Black Queens match against Mauritius in an Olympic qualifier.