The venue for the game between Ghana and Zimbabwe on Saturday, October 9, 2021 in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers has generated huge controversy after the GFA and the National Sports Authority fell off over who has the authority to issue accreditation.
On Tuesday GHANASoccernet.com broke the news that the FA is considering moving the game to the Obuasi Len Clay stadium after the National Sports Authority issued a statement that only accreditation secured from their outfit will be valid for the match.
This has led to uncertainty over the precise match venue for Saturday's game despite FIFA confirming the Cape Coast stadium.
GHANASoccernet.com can disclose that the match venue can't be changed due to FIFA's regulations on match centers for international games.
According to FIFA regulation article 21: (1): 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 eight weeks before the match in question is due to be played. In principle, the venue is to be located no further than 150km away from the nearest international airport, which shall not exceed a maximum two-hour drive. The airport should offer landing possibilities for charter flights in the event that the visiting association opts to charter its delegation’s flight directly to this airport. If associations cannot agree on match venues, the FIFA Organising Committee shall make the final decision.
(3): The host association shall inform its opponents and the FIFA general secretariat of the kick-off time at least 60 days before the match in question is due to be played. If the host association requests a change, the written approval of the visiting team must be obtained at least 30 days before the match. After this deadline, only FIFA may approve a late change of kick-off time based on well-founded and documented reasons.