The two boreholes dug by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) at the Sunyani Coronation Park are alleged to be shallow and have proven ineffective for their purpose since their commissioning a year ago.
The water system is part of the Association’s Borehole Project to ease access to water at the sports facility.
But the Bono Regional Director of the National Sports Authority, Foster Boakye, has revealed that one of the boreholes at the Coronation Park is so shallow that when they pump water, clay comes out, making it impossible to use for wetting the pitch.
FA President Kurt E.S. Okraku commissioned three borehole projects in the region, including two at Coronation Park and one at the Sunyani Technical University.
It followed the decision of the Executive Council of the GFA to invest part of the Association’s FIFA Forward 1.0 program to improve the quality of pitches and competitions via the provision of boreholes at game centers across the country.
The provision of boreholes is also ultimately improving competitions across the country, with the Premier League, Division One League, Women’s Premier League, and regional game centers benefiting from the project.
But a year after the commissioning, the NSA boss in the Bono Region says the project has not realized its ultimate goal.
“They gave us two boreholes, but unfortunately, one of the boreholes was too shallow. Right now, they have connected the new dressing room to that borehole, and that is what the players use to shower anytime they play matches. Before God and man, anytime we pump water, it’s more or less clay that comes out. How can we use such clay water to water the park?” he quizzed. “That’s why we channeled that borehole to the dressing room,” he said.
Foster Boakye said when he drew the attention of a member of the GFA’s Executive Council, he was told to resolve it on his own.
“I even spoke to one of the FA Exco members and pleaded with him that if it could be possible, they could even let the person come and do the drilling again so that the dirt or clay we see in the water will go down. I spoke to him, and he said as for that one, the NSA should take care of the cost. But my question is, where is the NSA going to get the money from to do all those things?” he quizzed.
Meanwhile, the Club Licensing Board of the GFA has revoked the license of the Sunyani Coronation Park with immediate effect for not meeting their requirements.