The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has turned down Ghana's request to host Nigeria at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
The African football ruling body rejected Ghana’s FA demand to name a new stadium for their FIFA World Cup play-off against Nigeria in March.
Ghana had requested for the match to be transferred from the Cape Coast Stadium as it would host the country’s Independence Day celebrations on March 6.
However, CAF turned down the request noting that it would only allow it if the stadium had been inspected and approved by the confederation.
“The venues of matches shall be set by the host association and/or by the confederation, as applicable, and the matches may only be played in stadiums that have been inspected and approved by the confederation concerned.
"The opponents and the FIFA General Secretariat shall be notified by the host association and/or by the confederation, as applicable, at least three months before the match in question is due to be played,” the statement by CAF read.
December 24, 2021 was the set deadline for the participating countries through their associations to select their preferred venue and give a communication to CAF.
“Based on the venue selection received from each of the participating national associations, CAF has timely concluded the assessment of the selected stadium(s) and communicated to FIFA the venue decisions for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers play-off round.
“The request for a change of venue is not accepted, hence the match between Ghana and . Nigeria for the play-off round of the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers should be maintained at Cape Coast Stadium,” the statement further read.
Ghana, which registered dismal performance in the ongoing AFCON tournament, will be aiming to bounce back by qualifying for the Qatar World Cup.