In a landmark development for Ghana Football, the first set of ultramodern floodlights at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence have been installed and commissioned.
At a simple but impressive ceremony held in the evening of Wednesday, 24th April, 2024, President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt E. S. Okraku received the keys to the power plant that feeds the floodlights and symbolically pressed the switch to officially commission the floodlights.
The floodlights project was funded under the FIFA Forward Program with the equipment being installed by OVI Enschede, a Dutch Electrical installations firm.
The Installation Technicians took the GFA President and his entourage through the simple guidelines for operating the floodlights. It was a truly beautiful sight to behold as the Astro turf shone under the new floodlights at Prampram.
Clearly excited and gratified at achieving this epoch, GFA President, Kurt Okraku, in his brief remarks after the handing over, expressed his appreciation to FIFA for their ongoing support for Ghana Football, indicating that it was a mark of the trust and confidence that FIFA has in the GFA that they continue to support investment in Ghana Football via the FIFA Forward Program which comes with stringent criteria that countries have to meet to qualify for this particular type of assistance from FIFA.
Referring to the added capacity and flexibility that the installation of the floodlights brings to the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence, the GFA President said, “The installation of this first set of floodlights means that training programs at the Centre can be held both during the day and at night. Our players in camp can train at night and refereeing and coaching training programs can also extend into the evening. I am indeed very happy that this dream to enhance our facility at Prampram is gradually being realized”.
Touching on further planned developments at the Centre, the GFA President indicated that plans for the construction of a 40-bed accommodation facility to house national teams are far advanced. With obvious pleasure, Mr. Okraku also pointed to the near completion of a new Astro turf being constructed with support from BetPawa.
“It is the vision of my good self and the Executive Council to develop the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence into a facility worthy of the footballing talent and history of Ghana. These incremental developments shall ultimately get us to the desired level of excellence”, President Okraku concluded.
Under the bright newly installed floodlights, a set of National U-17 players engaged in a training session observed by the President and his team. The President took the opportunity to share a few thoughts with the team after their training session.
President Okraku was accompanied by GFA Chief of Staff Michael Osekre, Head of Public Relations and Strategy Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe and Head of Legal Marian Serwaa Mensah. Mr. David Alifoe, Deputy Director of the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence, received the President and his team, and assured the President that the newly installed floodlights would be properly maintained.