By Makutu Manneh
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Bakary Y. Badjie, has said that criticism surrounding the ongoing renovation of the country’s stadium stems largely from a lack of understanding of stadium development and renovation requirements.
Speaking on QTV, Minister Badjie urged critics to research the cost of stadium renovations across Africa, noting that such an exercise would put the debate into proper perspective. He challenged claims that the amount spent on the project is excessive, stating that he is unaware of any country that has renovated a stadium for as little as 10 million dalasi, and invited anyone to prove him wrong.
The minister was responding to questions raised by a journalist who pointed out that hundreds of millions of dalasi have reportedly been spent on the stadium renovation, yet the national team continues to play its home matches outside the country. It was also suggested that constructing a new stadium might have been a better option.
Minister Badjie explained that when figures such as D375 million are mentioned, many people naturally perceive the amount as excessive and question why it was used for renovation rather than building a new facility.
“If it was that easy and cheap why are several countries still under ban. The situation that we are in, affected 33 stadiums in Africa and I think until today there are about 12 that are able to come out of this situation,” he said.
He recalled that during The Gambia’s last AFCON group stage, only Tunisia played its matches at home, while The Gambia, Comoros, and Madagascar all hosted their games outside their countries due to stadium issues.
Minister Badjie added that a number of countries in West and East Africa are still forced to play home matches abroad, underscoring the high cost and complexity of stadium renovations.
Addressing concerns about repeated work following the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) rejection, he said no previously completed work was redone.
“We are not demolishing or breaking anything and putting something new. What happened at the stadium for most of the job is inadequate.”
He further emphasized that the additions being made should not be considered a waste of public funds, noting that they were requirements that ought to have been addressed earlier. “But because we did not pay for it in the beginning we are paying for it now.”
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