The Member of Parliament for Sunyani East, Mr. Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, has cut sod for the construction of an artificial football pitch, with ancillary facilities at Penkwase Sakora Park, a suburb of Sunyani in the Bono region.
The GHc5.5 million project, being financed by the Bui Power Authority, is to be executed by Wembley Sports Construction Company Limited (WSCCL) and would be completed in December, 2023.
The project comes with a football pitch, 500 sitting capacity, a VIP sitting area, a changing room and a flood light system.
According to the MP, the project forms part of his aim of providing sports infrastructure and development to help nurture football talents in the municipality
The Penkwase Sakora Park has produced many football talents including; Saddick Adams and Afriyie Acquah from Sunyani among others. However, young footballers continue to play on the grass-less pitch.
Dan Owusu, a legend of Bofoakwa Tano football club and Black Stars, described the situation as bad.
He said young players cannot be training on such a pitch in this modern era and be expected to become good footballers. “The sakora park is dangerous. You can have a lot of injuries on the pitch”, he lamented.
At the sod cutting ceremony for work to commence, witnessed by the chiefs and people of Sunyani, Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh said the project will help bring back the love of football in the community.
He said the community will wholeheartedly welcome the project because “people have been waiting, expecting and have been hoping for this kind of infrastructure in the community. I am happy that I can help, and this is a contribution of bringing back the love for football”, he said.
He appealed to the chiefs and all other stakeholders, including the community members and the media to do whatever they can do to support the timely completion of the project.
The Bono Regional Sports Development Officer, Foster Boakye, commended the MP for his effort to develop talents.
The chief of Penkwase, Nana Kofi Boadum, also expressed his gratitude to the MP for the project. He, however, appealed to him to help get a befitting venue to host premier league matches of Bofoakwa Tano in Sunyani.
The Sunyani Coronation Park requires an upgrade to meet the club licensing board regulations for premier league matches.
