The Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, says the Alpha Hour movement played a crucial role in saving Ghana’s stadium pitches and making it possible for concerts and other events to return without destroying the turf.
Speaking on The KSM Show with Kwaku Sintim-Misa, Mr Ampofo Ankrah disclosed that the NSA could not afford the high cost of pitch protectors, which can cost up to $1.5 million.
“Pitch protectors, commonly known as pitch covers… the hydraulic ones, electronic, those are, you’re talking of 1.5 million dollars,” he said. “When we started looking out and went on the market, we thought this is ridiculous.”
He admitted that in the past, stadium managers often allowed churches and musicians to use the pitch in December because of the revenue involved, even though it damaged the grass.
“Churches would come, musicians would come, and they would want to use the pitch. And they would offer good money,” he said. “By the end of December, the pitch is brown. It’s totally destroyed.”
According to him, the damage goes beyond what many people see. Even laying cables across the pitch for a few days can cause lasting marks.
“You lay cables… across the pitch. Leave it for just three days. It will mark the pitch,” he explained. “Even if it’s a quarter of the pitch, it would affect the rest of the pitch.”
With no funds to buy pitch covers, the NSA initially decided that December events on the pitch were off. But that changed when Alpha Hour organisers stepped in.
“And then a miracle happened. And Alpha Hour happened,” he said.
The church behind the December 30 and 31 programme financed the pitch protection system under an arrangement with the NSA.
Mr Ampofo Ankrah was clear that the Authority did not purchase the equipment.
“It wasn’t acquired by the National Sports Authority. We don’t have such funds to acquire pitch protectors,” he said. “We went into an arrangement with this church.”
He believes that move did more than protect the grass.
“The church saved not just lives during their 30th and 31st programmes… they saved the shows of several musicians,” he said.
With the pitch cover in place, event organisers can now set up heavy stages, cables and seating areas without ruining the turf.
He noted that this allows promoters to host concerts, create VVIP sections and generate revenue without leaving the pitch damaged.
He revealed that before the Alpha Hour arrangement, discussions with Jamaican dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel’s team about hosting a concert fell through because there were no firm guarantees about importing pitch protectors.
“They actually put a contract there, but we didn’t sign,” he said.
On whether Alpha Hour now has special rights to the stadium because of the investment, Mr Ampofo Ankrah declined to go into details.
“Non-disclosure, boss,” he said. “It’s an arrangement. It’s for them.”
For him, the lesson is simple. Without protecting the pitch, every event becomes a gamble.
“You cannot do anything about the state of the pitch if you do not protect it and respect it. It will come back and bite you,” he said.
